Month In Review: March 2011

This month was not my best. I only got 11 books read whereas I usually get 12-14 read, but five of those were debuts. I also only reviewed eight book this month. Thankfully with April comes my spring break, so expect more reading and more books being read.

Below are all the books I managed to read this month.

1. Clarity by Kim Harrington (debut)
2. Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt
3. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter (debut)
4. Betrayal by Lee Nichols 
5. Die For Me by Amy Plum (debut)
6. Chime by Franny Billingsley 
7. Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens 
8. The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker (debut)
9. It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
10. (reread) Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols 
11. Those That Wake by Jesse Karp (debut)

I hope everyone else had a good March and let's hope for some happy reading in April!

Waiting on Wednesday (29)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Summary from goodreads!

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

September 5, 2011 

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part,Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention

Then Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: She and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. But what Lissa never sees coming is her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling...

--

I loved Kody's debut novel The DUFF and this looks like it has the same humor and style to it. I also heard that some characters from The DUFF might just make an appearance. 

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Title: It's Not Summer Without You
Author: Jenny Han
Published: April 27, 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 288/Hardcover
Series: Summer #2
Source: My personal library


Summary: Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

***This review contains spoilers for The Summer I Turned Pretty***

Review: The books in the Summer series may have their flaws, but they're still so much fun to read, and that also applies to It's Not Summer Without You.


The characters were still a big problem for me in this book. I didn't understand what was going on with Belly and Conrad. A lot of the book is going back and telling what's happened between Conrad and Belly since the end of The Summer I Turned Pretty. I was happy to see that they had actual interactions between books and that that's where they formed their "relationship" but then Conrad went on to confuse me. Throughout the book (in the present and flashbacks) I could tell that he cared about Belly. Little things like the necklace and remembering the cocoa at the end made me see that he really does care for her and possibly love her. But he still acted like a jerk half the time. I wouldn't have minded as much if I knew why he was acting like a jerk. I've read some early reviews of the final in the series, We'll Always Have Summer, and found out that Conrad's behavior is explained in it, so hopefully we'll soon see why he treats Belly the way he does.


Belly was up and down for me. I loved to see that she grew and matured after Susannah's death. She came to realize that maybe she should give other people the benefit of the doubt and it just might not be all about her. However, she still got under my skin quite a bit. At times she seemed to revert back to "old Belly" and became very annoying.


I couldn't really see any relationship between Jeremiah and Belly working out, simply because they seem better at being friends than a couple. As much as Conrad confuses me with his attitude towards Belly I really do think he would be better for her than Jeremiah. 


I loved that It's Not Summer Without You had two different first person perspectives. Jeremiah and Belly both narrate separate chapters in this one, and I thought it really helped with letting me inside Jeremiah's head to see how he felt about certain people and situations.


The plot itself seemed to mostly be back story and flashbacks from when they were all younger, but near the end came the meat of the story. I was so glad to see Conrad fighting for the beach house. Because of the way he was with people seeing him fight for something (even if it is a house) showed that he is in fact capable of caring. 


It's Not Summer Without You was a great continuation of the Summer series. The characters grew on me (a little) and the writing was as good as ever. Although I'm still not sure about some aspects of the overall story, the next and final installment, We'll Always Have Summer should clear things up, or so I've heard. 

The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

Title: The Liar Society
Author: Lisa & Laura Roecker
Published: March 1, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 358/Paperback
Series: The Liar Society #1
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge
Source: My personal library


Summary: Kate Lowry didn’t think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, who died mysteriously a year before, she’s not so sure. When the emails continue, Kate is forced to confront her school’s resident druggie, a sketchy administrator, and even her own demons. 

As Kate moves closer and closer to the truth, she teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not so)shining armor–the dangerously attractive, bad boy, Liam and her love-struck neighbor, Seth. The three uncover an ancient secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school with the power to destroy them all. 

But the truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes it’s only the beginning.

Review: The first thing that got my attention with this book was the mystery. If done right mysteries can be the most fun books to read. The Roeckers definitely did a good job of creating an intriguing and mysterious book that keeps you guessing.

I was happy to see that The Liar Society had something new and fresh to offer. I'm not usually a fan of the "private school" plots because they usually involve overly dramatic girls and guys who are jerks, but this was different. Kate doesn't exactly fit in because she's still dealing with Grace's death. Kate was most certainly not an overly dramatic annoying girl. She had determination and drive to figure out what happened to her friend. I think she made a great protagonist for just that reason. She had something she wanted and needed and she wasn't going to let people (or a secret society) stand in her way. Despite this, I still found it hard at times to connect with her, but it was only in certain scenes, not through the whole novel.

I also loved the fact that secret societies were in this book. They made everything that much more mysterious. It was also fun to read along as Kate learned more and more about her school, because I felt like I was just as clueless about what had happened as her. 

Kate herself was a character I loved. She was so funny and, as I said before, she was incredibly strong-willed. Sam was also a fun character, although I felt bad for him and his unrequited love. Liam seemed like the typical bad-boy at first, but I really got to see a new side to the "bad boy", and I think this is because of the wonderful writing of Lisa and Laura. 

The authors didn't feel the need to over-complicate the book. They didn't over detail and they didn't under detail. I was able to see everything as Kate was seeing it and the plot moved along at a nice pace, although it seemed a little slower in the middle than at the beginning and end.

The only thing I would have liked to see different about The Liar Society was the flashbacks. The book goes back and forth from the present to Grace's death. I think the story would have had a better flow to it if everything from the previous year was told before the "present day" chapters. That way everything went in chronological order instead of back and forth. However, this did not have any affect on the greatness of this book.

Overall, The Liar Society is a great mystery. It's fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters are funny and realistic, and the plot is original and draws you in with great writing. The ending was unexpected, but thankfully this is only the first in a series.

In My Mailbox (29)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. I didn't get anything for review this week, but I did get some books from the book store!

Bought: 

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han (Hardcover)

The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker (Paperback)

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney (Paperback)

Swoon by Nina Malkin

Title: Swoon
Author: Nina Malkin
Published: May 19, 2009 by Simon Pulse
Pages: 425/Hardcover
Series: Swoon #1
Source: My personal library


Summary: Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him -- but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent -- and irresistible -- adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.

What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?

Review: Swoon is one of those books that you either love or hate. I for one didn't love it.

I was constantly confused in this book. It seemed like something new was going on in every chapter and I had to continuously flip back through to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Also, and I know these things were meant to be happening because of Sin's powers or something like that, but where in the world do movies turned basement orgies come from?

The characters were also something that I had a hard time dealing with. I like that they had monosyllabic names, that added a little (that I could actually keep up with) to the story. However, there was absolutely no connection to any of the characters on my part. 

I think the plot could have been a good one if it had some more organization. Because so many things were happening I never really knew what the main point of the book was, and I'm still not that clear on it. 

It seems that Swoon has very vocal groups who both love and hate it. Although I don't love it I wouldn't say I hate it. It could have used some work on the plot, but besides that I think that it just wasn't my kind of book. Despite this I will probably read the sequel Swear in the hopes of gaining some more insight to the story, and because I love the cover! 

Waiting on Wednesday (28)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Summary from goodreads!

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh 

January 24, 2012

While Varen remains a prisoner in the dream-world, Isobel is haunted by his memory. He appears to her in her dreams and soon, even in her waking life. But is she just imagining it? Isobel knows she must find a way back to Varen. She makes plans to go to Baltimore. There, she confronts the figure known throughout the world as the Poe Toaster—the same dark man who once appeared to Isobel in her dreams, calling himself "Reynolds."

Isobel succeeds in interrupting the Toaster's ritual and, in doing so, discovers a way to return to the dream-world. Soon, she finds herself swept up in a realm which not only holds remnants of Poe's presence, but has also now taken on the characteristics of Varen's innermost self. It is a dark world comprised of fear, terror, and anger.

When Isobel once more encounters Varen, she finds him changed. With his mind poisoned by the dream world, he becomes a malevolent force, bent on destroying all—even himself. Now Isobel must face a new adversary, one who also happens to be her greatest love.

--

I absolutely LOVED Nevermore and can't wait to see how the series continues. I can not wait for January of next year. It needs to hurry up! 

Cover Talk (6)

Cover Talk is something I started doing as a way to show off pretty covers. It's similar to Kristi's Books to Pine For and Steph Su's Cover Lust. 

Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Pearl by Jo Knowles

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace 

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz

After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Title: Overprotected
Author: Jennifer Laurens
Published: February 9, 2011
Pages: 243/Paperback
Source: My personal library


Summary: Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in New York City. 

Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard. 

Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector. 

Daddy thought I’d be safe. He thought I’d never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever. 

Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin. 

Daddy was wrong.

Review: I wouldn't say "cute" is the right word for this book, but it left me with the feeling that I usually get from a "cute" book. There wasn't anything that astounded me or left me completely in love with this book, but it was a quick and fun read.

Not a lot happened with the plot until the last half of the book. It was mainly Ashlyn living her overprotected life and wanting more freedom. The topic of her past kidnapping was only mentioned in short bursts and I wanted to know more about the event so that I could have a better understanding of why her dad treated her that way. 

Now I know that the whole point of this book was that Ashlyn's dad is too overprotective, but in the end it got to the point where it was unrealistic. I don't think anyone could be paranoid enough to do and expect those thing from their child. Of course I'm not a parent so maybe that is what parents expect. 

I liked Jennifer's writing style. It was easy to read and kept me interested even through the slow parts. Unfortunately the characters weren't so great. They all seemed flat to me with nothing really separating them from each other. I didn't see the connection between Ashlyn or Colin either. It seemed like Colin was just attractive so Ashlyn forgot about how much she hated him. 

Although the plot had its slow and unrealistic parts, and the characters weren't the best, Overprotected was still a fun and quick read that puts a knew spin on overbearing parents. 

In My Mailbox (28)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Bought:

Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens 

For Review:

68 Knots by Michael Robert Evans (NetGalley)

Bite Me by Parker Blue (NetGalley) 

Dreamwalk by Sarah MacManus (Author) 

Follow Friday (4)

Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee's View and is a fun way to find out about new blogs. Follow Friday takes place (as you can probably tell) every Friday.


This week's question is from Jess at Gone With The Words. The questions is:

How did you come up with your blog name?

To which I answer:

I'm not really sure. I remember thinking about what I should name it and I wanted it to be catchy but different. One of my friends was obsessed with the word "beast" so that might have been on my mind. I finally decided that "Beastie Books" was both catchy and different. And thus the name stuck.

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Title: Chime
Author: Franny Billingsley
Published: March 17, 2011 by Dial
Pages: 320/Hardcover
Source: ARC from publisher


Summary: Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

Review: The idea behind Chime was a very original one and had a lot of potential. Unfortunately it wasn't my cup of tea.

There was so much going on in this book that it was hard to keep up. The plot seemed choppy and there were a lot of different things going on. Between finding out who killed Briony's step-mom, who was trying to kill her, and everything else, some things got lost. I found myself looking back at previous pages to see if I'd missed something because I would frequently get lost. 

The characters were interesting, but I couldn't connect with them. There seemed to be a wall for me between myself and the character that didn't allow me to see through their eyes. 

I also didn't see any chemistry between Briony and Eldric. They spent a lot of time together, but they seemed more like friends or siblings to me. 

The overall story of Chime was original and intriguing, but I think it could have had a better execution. The plot was a little choppy and unclear, and I didn't get a lot out of the characters, but this was a good fantasy type novel for those who enjoy them. 

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Summary from goodreads!

The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen

September 27, 2011

 Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting 

the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that 

puts her in grave danger—Sasha is Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and 

Eryx’s biggest threat. 

A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks 

for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant—God’s promise he will find 

peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he’s finally 

found the girl he’s been searching for: Sasha. 

With the threat of Eryx looming, Jax has to keep Sasha safe and 

win her over. But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal 

life?

--

I'm super excited for this book! It sounds like it could be really good if it's done right, and it's a 2011 debut.

Betrayal by Lee Nichols

Title: Betrayal
Author: Lee Nichols
Published: March 1, 2011 by Bloomsbury
Pages: 304/Paperback
Series: Haunting Emma #2
Source: My personal library 


Summary: Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive—one a snarky teen boy, the other a British scholar—Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good.
As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor.

Review: I thought this was a good continuation of the series, but I didn't like it as much as Deception and I wasn't left with very strong feelings about it.

The summary makes it seem like the entire plot is dedicated to finding out who the traitor is, when really that happens in only the last few chapters. The ending itself was a little too rushed for me. I felt like so much was happening in such a short amount of time. I didn't have time to process everything that had been learned and that had happened. 

I wish there had been more character development as well. I connected fairly well with the characters in Deception, but there was a disconnect for me in this one. I saw what the characters were supposed to be like, but I did't feel it. 

I also wanted to know more about new characters. I felt like I got to know Lukas and Simon pretty well, but I would have loved more information on the Siren. She seemed like an important part of the story, but nothing was ever done with her.

I know this sounds like a pretty negative review, but I really did enjoy Betrayal. It was a good sequel and the ending set it up (if a little too conveniently) for the next in the series.  

In My Mailbox (27)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. This was a great week for me! Although I may have gone a bit overboard on NetGalley.

Bought:

Betrayal by Lee Nichols

For Review: 

Chime by Franny Billingsley

After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy *

Solid by Shelley Workinger

* I didn't know that this was being sent to me and I wasn't informed that I had won a contest so I'm just assuming that it's for review.

** Thank you to Dial, Simon and Schuster, and Shelley!

NetGalley Reviews:

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin

Putting Makeup on Dead People by Jen Violi 

Die For Me by Amy Plum (check out the new cover here)

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic 

* Thank you to Harper Collins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Disney-Hyperion, and NetGalley

From the Library:

Change of Heart by Shari Maurer 

On a more positive note

Last week I talk about what annoys me about books. Since that post was mainly just things I didn't like I thought I should follow it up with something a bit more positive. I will now make a list of what I love about a book's appearance.

1. When a book's chapters have titles. I'm not sure if this is technically about the appearance of a book, but I love it when chapters have titles. I'm not sure why, but it's almost like a super short summary of what's to come in that chapter.
2. When a hardcover book has a wonderfully colored cover and inside cover (when you remove the dust jacket). This makes me so happy! Beautiful covers are the best, but when the cover comes off and a cover's still pretty is even better.
3. When a books has an absolutely gorgeous cover. I don't think there's any reason why I need to explain this one. I will now give you some examples of wonderfully pretty covers.

                                      

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

Title: Sean Griswold's Head
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Published: March 1, 2011 by Bloomsbury
Pages: 288/Hardcover
Source: My personal library
Challenge: The Contemps


Summary: According to her guidance counselor, fifteen-year-old Payton Gritas needs a focus object—an item to concentrate her emotions on. It's supposed to be something inanimate, but Payton decides to use the thing she stares at during class: Sean Griswold's head. They've been linked since third grade (Griswold-Gritas—it's an alphabetical order thing), but she's never really known him.

The focus object is intended to help Payton deal with her father's newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis. And it's working. With the help of her boy-crazy best friend Jac, Payton starts stalking—er, focusing on—Sean Griswold . . . all of him! He's cute, he shares her Seinfeld obsession (nobody else gets it!) and he may have a secret or two of his own.

In this sweet story of first love, Lindsey Leavitt seamlessly balances heartfelt family moments, spot-on sarcastic humor, and a budding young romance.

Review: This was such a good book! It was cute and sweet and heartfelt and just filled with overall good feelings. I thought (because of the summary) that this was going to be an instant-love-without-a-reason type book, but "love" didn't really come up that much as far as "I love him."

I never really understood why Payton was so mad with her parents. Obviously they kept her father's MS a secret from her, but you really can tell that they were trying to protect her. Other than that I didn't have any problems with Payton. I think she was a very three dimensional character and had something that everyone can relate to. She doesn't see herself as the prettiest/most popular/best person out there ans sher realizes and accepts her flaws. Plus I could definitely relate to her anal retentive ways of making lists and what not. 

The relationships Payton were made were also great to read. I could see the bond between her and Sean as it was forming and loved watching her interact with Jac. I also found it easy to relate to the older brother and other family aspects of her life.

My only real problem with Sean Griswold's Head was that it seemed more involved in developing Payton's relationships with people instead of developing her family bonds and problems at home.

Sean Griswold's Head was super funny and will probably be easy for many people to relate to. The characters were fun to read and I wouldn't mind at all if one of them was my best friend.