Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday

 A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that people are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for Waiting on Wednesday this week is: 

Red Queen

by Victoria Aveyard

Publication: March 26th 2015 by Orion , 320 pages

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

Book Covers

Book Covers I Spotted This Week

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare Book Review

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

“When are you going to face the fact that the two of you are not meant to be together?” 

Sebastian has gone missing and Jace alongside him, the Clave have given up on finding them and so Clary decides to take matters into her own hands.   

City of Lost Souls is essentially split into two main stories; Clary, Jace and Sebastian’s and Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus’s. When everybody finds out that Jace and Sebastian are connected, one gets hurt the other does as well. It puts a dent in their plans to kill Sebastian. 

When Jace asks Clary to go along with Sebastian’s plan, Clary does. She and Simon are wearing faerie rings which allow them to communicate in their minds which Clary plans on using to tell Simon Sebastian’s plans. At first Clary loses her direction on her mission, she’s with Jace and she focuses more on their relationship.  She’s also confused on how to judge Sebastian as his plans seem all right and Jace believes and trusts him. When Clary finds out Sebastian’s real plans – to raise an army and destroy Shadowhunters with the help of a second mortal cup with the blood from Lilith. She has to do something and this is where the stories link.

Whilst Simon, Isabelle, Alec and Magnus are trying to find a way of getting rid of Sebastian without killing Jace. Simon summons an Angel to get a weapon that’ll do the job, the sword of the Archangel Michael.

There’s a scene in the book in which I’m so proud of Clary. Sebastian tries to rape his sister and Clary does everything in her to try and stop him. Clary hasn’t had much training because bad things just happen to and around her and her training keeps getting pushed second. But Clary uses everything inside to fight him and she wins. Clary uses her skills to trick Sebastian and it takes some guts to stab the person you love.

Also Alec who’s been a strong character throughout the series just turned into Bella Swan with all his moping about being with a person who’d live forever.  When Alec is deciding on if he should take away Magnus’s immortality I couldn`t believe he would do that.  Why would you do that to someone you love? But in the ending when they break up it was so sad because Alec is only 18 and he’s scared and he made the wrong choice.

The best part of the books is the ending, it wasn’t a cliff hanger but it’s suspenseful.

   

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday

 A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that people are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for Waiting on Wednesday this week is: 

Play On

by Michelle Smith 

Publication: April 2015 by Spencer Hill Contemporary

In the small town of Lewis Creek, baseball is everything. Especially for all-star pitcher Austin Braxton, who has a one-way ticket out of town with his scholarship to a top university. All that stands between him and a new start is one final season. But when Austin starts flunking Chemistry, his picture-perfect future is in jeopardy. A failing grade means zero playing time, and zero playing time means no scholarship.

Enter Marisa Marlowe, the new girl in town who gets a job at his momma's flower shop. Not only is Marisa some home-schooled super-genius; she's also a baseball fanatic and more than willing to help Austin study. As the two grow closer, there's something about Marisa that makes Austin want more than just baseball and out of Lewis Creek -- he wants a future with her. But Marisa has a past that still haunts her, one that she ran all the way to South Carolina to escape.

As Austin starts to peel back the layers of Marisa’s pain, it forces him to look beyond the façade of himself and everyone he thought he knew in his town. What he sees instead is that in a small town like Lewis Creek, maybe baseball isn’t everything—maybe it is just the thing that ties them all together. 

Remember

by Eileen Cook

Publication: February 24th 2015 by Simon Pulse, 320 pages

A thrilling tale about what a girl will do to get back a memory she lost…or remove what she wants to forget.

Harper is used to her family being hounded by protesters. Her father runs the company that trademarked the "Memtex" procedure to wipe away sad memories, and plenty of people think it shouldn't be legal. Then a new demonstrator crosses her path, Neil, who’s as persistent as he is hot. Not that Harper’s noticing, since she already has a boyfriend.

When Harper suffers a loss, she’s shocked her father won’t allow her to get the treatment, so she finds a way to get it without his approval. Soon afterward, she’s plagued with strange symptoms, including hallucinations of a woman who is somehow both a stranger, yet incredibly familiar. Harper begins to wonder if she is delusional, or if these are somehow memories.

Together with Neil, who insists he has his own reasons for needing answers about the real dangers of Memtex, Harper begins her search for the truth. What she finds could uproot all she’s ever believed about her life…

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling Book Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.” 

Harry has spent all his wizarding life being the centre of attention because he’s the boy who lived. He’s the only one to survive from Voldermolt when he used the Killing curse and every year since he joined Hogwarts, Harry has been defeating Voldermolt.  And now in his final year or what should be his final year, Harry is off on a mission.  A mission set by Dumbledore to collect all of Voldermolt’s horcruxes.  Harry has sacrificed his entire childhood just because of Voldermolt and now he’s gonna sacrifice his life.

There are two people who Harry trusts the most; Hermione and Ron. This trio have been through so much together and so it’s only right that they go along with Harry. In Deathly Hallows their relationships goes through a lot; arguments about finding the horcruxes, Ron’s jealousy, family and where to go next. But most importantly about Harry’s willingness to sacrifice his life and Ron and Hermione’s effort to stop him.     

There are seven Horcruxes; Tom Riddle’s Diary, Selwyn’s Locket, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, the Ravenclaw Diadem, Hufflepuff’s Cup, Harry himself and Nagini the Snake. The diary and ring have already been destroyed so now Harry has to destroy the rest.  The locket is found when Harry, Hermione and Ron impersonate workers in the ministry and go after Umbridge who’s safeguarding the locket. The cup is found when the trio break into Bellatrix’s vault and the diadem is found at Hogwarts.  Before the locket is found the trio are going through trouble because they’re just stuck hiding without knowing where any of the horcruxes are and that is until they find the locket. But now they’re stuck with the dilemma of trying to get rid of the locket which naturally causes more arguments till the point where Ron leaves. The cup is found when the trio break into Bellatrix’s vault and steal it from Gringotts as well as setting a dragon free. The Diadem is found when the trio go back to Hogwarts and with the help of a ghost Harry figures out where it is.  

The story of the Deathly Hallows is of three brothers each given a gift from death himself. The oldest brother asks for the most powerful wand in any existence, the elder wand. The second brother asks for the power to recall others from Death, the resurrection stone. The youngest brother asks for something that would enable him to go to a place where Death couldn’t follow, the invisibility cloak.  

   

DA and The Order of the Phoenix – One group is adults whilst the other is all students at Hogwarts. Both support Harry and Dumbledore and fight in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldermolt.   

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday

 A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that people are eagerly anticipating.

My choice for Waiting on Wednesday this week is: 

Half Wild 

by Sally Green 

Publication: March 24th 2015 by Viking Juvenile, 400 pages

"You will have a powerful Gift, but it’s how you use it that will show you to be good or bad."

In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into his own unique magical Gift, and he's on the run--but the Hunters are close behind, and they will stop at nothing until they have captured Nathan and destroyed his father.

 A Wicked Thing

by Rhiannon Thomas 

Publication: February 24th 2015 by HarperTeen, 352 pages

A spinning wheel. A prick of a finger. A terrible curse. 

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairytale.

Her family is long dead. Her “true love” is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. Everyone expects Aurora to marry her betrothed and restore magic and peace to the kingdom before revolution tears it apart. But after a lifetime spent locked in a tower for her own safety, Aurora longs for the freedom to make her own choices. When she meets a handsome rebel, he tempts her to abandon everything for a different kind of life.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her.

With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin Book Review

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

“Dying is just another part of living. In time, you may even come to see your death as a birth.”

Elsewhere is the story of Liz, a girl who was killed in a hit-and-run accident and her life after death.

The story starts off from Liz’s dog, Lucy’s point of view.  You can tell that this book is going to involve talking animals, which I’m not fond of.

Liz wakes up on a boat called the SS Nile. There she meets Thandi a sixteen year old who was shot in the head and they try to figure out where they are and where they’re going. Liz also meets Curtis Jest, a singer for Liz’s favourite band who died from an overdose. You meet various other characters throughout the book like Grandma Betty and Owen

In Elsewhere no one gets older everyone gets younger, it’s an interesting concept and the only thing in the book that made me read it to the end.

  

In the beginning you understand why she’s so bratty because she’s dead, she died before she could experience life and she’s angry because of that but Liz never changes, she’s so annoying and self centred that it ruins the entire book.

“Liz takes one last look in the binoculars, checking to make sure that the people who should be at her funeral are there.”

Liz later goes on to complain about how her favourite subject teachers aren`t at her funeral and how disgusting that is.  Her best friend, Zooey isn’t at the funeral and Liz blames her death on her. See what I’m getting at – if you don`t go to her funeral you’re a bad person, totally disregarding the point on how people mourn in their own ways.

“Easy for you to say. You chose this.”

People go though dark moments in their lives, Curtis Jest is one of them. There are moments in his life when he wanted to die but in the end he wanted live.  So Liz says something like that to him he’s gonna fell shitty.

At the start when she first meets her Grandma, she’s so rude and impulsive I don`t get how Grandma Betty allowed her to stay let alone keep giving her chances.

“Liz imagines herself as a beautiful, benevolent, generous angel looking down on everyone”

I’m all for self esteem and loving yourself but that is like … too much and the whole issue with her watching Zooey cry and feeling better about her life. Why?

“She wishes they would talk about her more often.”

This again.

“Why do two people ever fall in love? It’s a mystery.”

Insta-love between Owen who’s 17 but when he died he was in his early 30’s – he’s with a 15 year old and as Liz’s and Owen’s relationship progresses it just gets awkward.

“Oh! she says. I like you very much too!”

“You could tattoo my name on your arm, if you want”

And when Owen’s wife comes back – it’s cringe worthy

“Liz, of course she’ll stay with me.”…. “What about us?”

“Who the hell dies of the flu except really old people? Liz thinks how everything is changing, all because stupid Emily couldn`t be bothered to wash her hands properly.”

Also Betty and Curtis’s relationship – love is sniffing someone’s hair

And finally the ending is predictable but that was to be expected.

     

Book Covers

Book Covers I Spotted This Week