In My Mailbox (41)

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

Bought: 

Enclave by Ann Aguirre (see my review here)

Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley 

City of Masks by Mary Hoffman 

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Title: Enclave
Author: Ann Aguirre
Published: April 12, 2011 by Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 259/Hardcover
Series:Razorland #1 
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge     
Source: bought







Summary: WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE 

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember. 

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning. 

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace. 

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

Review: Enclave was one of those books that I was really excited about. It sounded awesome and people were saying good things about it, but ultimately it wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be.

I loved Deuce. She was the constant in this book that I simply adored. She was one tough chick who knew how to survive. She was tough and willing to fight, but when needed she could be compassionate and vulnerable. She was a great protagonist and, really, she was the star of the book (in my eyes).

I liked the first part of the book much better than the second, although the first part was not the best (don't worry I'll explain). In part one there just seemed to be so much that was touched upon but then never given an explanation. It was clear that the people of the enclave were familiar with blind obedience, but I never saw the characters really rallying against their leaders. Many of them claimed to be part of a "resistance" but never really did anything.

When Deuce and Fade finally make it to the Topside I was even more thrown off. It seemed like they were going to be a couple. Then they weren't. Then they kind of were. But then something happened (and I still have no idea what) that made Fade become moody and depressed and by the end we were in triangle territory. I'm a fan of love triangles but not in this instance. It was weird because I never got to know the characters besides Deuce and they didn't seem like they wanted that kind of relationship with her. 

Enclave's world building left much to be desired, but as the first in a YA series I'm holding out hope for the next installment. I didn't get to know the characters and their choice of relationships confused me, but I'm happy nonetheless that I read Enclave. 

Waiting on Wednesday (41)

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

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

February 14, 2012

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

--

The first book in the series, Angelfire, was amazing! That being said, I can't wait to see what comes next.

Cover Talk (10)

Cover Talk was inspired by Kristi's Books to Pine For and Steph Su's Cover Lust. I started Cover Talk as a way to show and talk about the cool/pretty/new covers I find while looking for new books (mostly on Goodreads).

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Perception by Kim Harrington

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Slide by Jill Hathaway

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Truth by Julia Karr

Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

Title: Sometimes It Happens
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Published: July 12, 2011 by Simon Pulse
Pages: 320/Hardcover
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab


Summary: On the last day of her junior year, Hannah's boyfriend Sebastian dumped her. Facing a summer of loneliness, Hannah turns to her best friend Ava for comfort. Ava does what BFFs do: she stays by Hannah's side...until it's time for Ava to head up to Maine for the summer. Also left behind is Ava's boyfriend, Noah, who's such a great guy he gets Hannah a job at the diner he waits tables at. Slowly, Hannah comes out of her funk thanks to Noah's good conversation and their fun times at the diner. But things get complicated when their friendship turns into attraction--and one night, into a passionate kiss. 

The novel opens on the first day of senior year; the day Hannah is going to see Ava, Sebastian, and Noah all in one place. Over the course of the day secrets and betrayals are revealed, and alliances are broken and reformed. In the end, everyone is paired up once again, but not the way you might think...

Review: This is the third book by Lauren Barnholdt I've read and since I enjoyed her previous books I was looking forward to this one. There were some things that I think could have been better but it was an overall enjoyable read.

I think the main aspect to Sometimes It Happens the fact that it's basically a flashback book. I have a bit of a problem with books that involve flashbacks. I either like them or I don't. It wasn't that this book's flashbacks weren't well done, because they were. I just think it would have been a lot smoother if the book had started on the Last Day of Junior Year and gone from there without the flashbacks instead of starting on the First Day of Senior Year and going back and forth between flashbacks. 

Character-wise the main characters didn't do it for me. I much preferred the secondary characters like Lacey. I found her quite funny and well rounded. Again, it's not that Noah and Hannah were bad, they just didn't hold a lot of emotional power over me. I guess you could say they seemed flat. 

I also didn't see the chemistry between Noah and Hannah that led to The Thing. I definitely saw them grow closer, but more as friends than boyfriend/girlfriend. That being said, I still think it made for a good romantic-ish book. 

My biggest problem with the book was how all of the resolution was at the end and it just seemed to rushed and unbelievable. I was happy to see that the book showed a realistic depiction of friendship (being mad at each other, fighting, making up, etc.) but all of the making up between characters was just too much and too soon to put into a few pages at the end. 

Sometimes It Happens is a book that realistically shows a friendship and what can happen when other factors are thrown in. Some characters rubbed me the wrong way while other aspects didn't sit that well with me, but overall I really liked Barnholdt's newest work and can't wait for her next. 


More Books by Lauren Barnholdt
Two-Way Street
One Night That Changes Everything
Aces Up
Reality Chick/Watch Me
The Witches of Santa Anna Series
At the Party Series
Before That Night

In My Mailbox (40)

In My Mailbox was started by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. It's been a while since I've done an IMM post so this post is going to feature all the books I've received since my last IMM post.

NetGalley:

Blood by K.J. Wignall

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

For Review/Giveaway:

The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

I'm back...kind of

I just got back yesterday from my trip to Europe. It was amazing and the time away definitely helped me get back into the reading and blogging mood.


Another thing I realized while abroad was that I'm really bad at committing to things during the summer. That's why even though I'm back in the mood to blog and read I may not be online much for the rest of my summer.


There are a ton of other things I want to do along with blogging and reading. And for that reason some things are going to take precedence over reading.


Pretty much, this is a post to let you guys know that I'm back but taking it slow, so don't be worried if you don't see much of me this summer. I'll be back.