Winner!!

Hey all! The winner of my Welcome Back Giveaway is:

Kazhmere de Guzman!

I unabashedly love Jennifer Lawrence. : )

Kaz, I've sent you an e-mail to get your info & book choice(s). Congrats! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Upcoming book-to-film adaptations

     I feel like so many of the movies that have been made over the past year have been either sequels or book adaptations. Hollywood running low on ideas? No complaints here, so long as they don't half ass it! Here are some upcoming confirmed book-to-film adaptations over the next year or so. If you know of any others, leave them in the comments! I am not always super up-to-date on this stuff. : )

Horns by Joe Hill
Film Release: October 11, 2013

     If you don't know (I didn't when I first fell in love with his writing) Joe Hill is Stephen King's son and an absolutely amazing storyteller (shocker!) This isn't my favorite of his books (that honor goes to Heart-Shaped Box) but this is the only one I know of heading to the silver screen. Guess who's starring? Guess!!

Daniel Radcliffe! He is set to portray the tortured title character Ig Perrish. Eee!

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Film Release: March 24, 2014

I'm sure by now you all know about this one, but Veronica Roth's highly acclaimed novel Divergent is being made into a film starring Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, and a bunch of other super-talented stars. To be honest, I haven't actually gotten around to reading these books, but I know that they've gotten really great reviews around the blogosphere.

The Maze Runner by James Dasher
Film Release: February 14, 2014

     This YA novel about a boy who wakes up in a giant maze with no memories. So, that sounds pretty legit. This is another of those novels that got a TON of wonderful reviews but I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Man, my TBR list is HUGE. Honestly. James Dasher also has writing credits on this film, so hopefully he was able to bring the novel to life the way he wanted it to be portrayed.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Film Release: ??

This novel was just...I don't even know what to say. I am both glad and worried that it's being made into a movie, because sometimes you see a film adaptation of a book and it's like WHYYY. So, we'll see. This is set to star Chloe Grace Moretz, who is just AMAZING, so I'm thinking this will be a pretty great movie. : )

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Film Release: February 14, 2014

These books are crazy-popular, and they are definitely not your typical vampire fare. The film is set to star Zoey Deutch who is just insanely beautiful. She was also in the Beautiful Creatures movie (as Emily Asher), and she's in that ABC show Switched at Birth.











The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Film Release: 2014

This book broke my freaking heart, you guys. Repeatedly. And I loved every damn second of it. The film is set to star Shailene Woodley and I would this is probably one of the ones I'm more excited/anxious about. Damn. Seriously, I loved this book so hard and if you haven't read it you need to. John Green is wonderfully talented. Just...seriously.







And there are a ton of things that are listed as 'in development', so who knows if they'll get off the ground. Here are a few:

The Age of Miracles by Karen Walker Thompson (THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (OMG!)
Matched by Ally Condie (Supposedly the entire trilogy has been picked up by Disney)


And then of course there's Catching Fire and City of Bones, both of which I am INSANELY excited about because I absolutely DEVOURED both of those  book series.

So. It's shaping up to be an interesting year!

Levitating Las Vegas

Levitating Las Vegas by Jennifer Echols

Genre: New Adult/Young Adult
Published: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star

     Showgirl Holly Starr is sick and tired of assisting her dad, a celebrity magician, in his Las Vegas casino magic show. As soon as he keeps his promise to her and shares the secrets of his tricks, she can break out on her own. But can she really make it? For years Holly has taken medication to stave off crazy hallucinations that she can levitate objects. Just when she thinks she's ready to make a career and a life for herself her medicine-and her luck-run out.

     Elijah Brown suffers from a similar delusion-that he can read minds-and he's out of medicine too. Determined to save himself and his old flame Holly, he kidnaps her and takes her straight to the source, a town high in the Rockies where their medicine is made. What they discover there leads them to suspect their powers are not imaginary after all...and neither is the intense attraction they feel for each other.

    They make a pact to stick together as they return to Vegas to confront the people who kept them in the dark so long. But soon they're pitting their powers against each other in a dangerous world where the nightlife is seductive, domination is addictive, the sex is beyond belief...and falling in love is murder.

     I was so very excited for this book, you guys, seriously. Look at that cover! And that synopsis...oh man. And I bet that you can guess that this is leading to a 'but', so I'm mentally pulling a Bob Barker as in 'ding, ding, ding give them all a prize!' 

     Okay, sorry, sarcasm over. Probably. This book had so many appealing aspects: it takes place in a casino in Las Vegas, our main character is a girl struggling with the idea that she has a mental illness, there's glitz and glamour and cute boys and MAGICIANS for Pete's sake. 

     However, as anybody who has ever tasted my cooking can attest, throwing a bunch of yummy ingredients into a pot does not a delicious meal make. There was a little something something missing from this book for me, a certain cohesion. I know that sounds super vague but the truth is I can't exactly pinpoint what was missing, I only know that something was and it left me wanting. 

     I usually really enjoy Jennifer Echols writing, too. Oh, well. 

     If you're looking for something fun and a little flirty to get you through one of those 'I don't want to think' days, or a lazy beach day where your brain is all sun-soaked I would recommend picking this up. 

Oh hey guess what!! You can totally read the ENTIRE BOOK for FREE (along with a selection of other full-length novels from XOXO After Dark) here : http://xoxoafterdark.com/free-reads/

Teaser Tuesday

Hey guys! It's Tuesday! That means its time for another Teaser Tuesday. This is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading and is an opportunity for people to share a little snippet from their current read. Anybody can participate!

*Grab your current read
*Flip to a random page
*Share two 'teaser' sentences from anywhere on the page
*Avoid spoilers! Don't be that person who ruins a book for someone else!
*Share the title & author so that other readers can check out the book, too.

So, here's my TT for this week:

"And then, as if in slow motion, he was falling, in skydiver pose. I was perched safely at the top of the jungle gym and I saw Charlie hit the ground with an ominous thud."
                     Pg. 88 Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls
                                              by Bennett Madison

I've only just started this book but it's a girl-detective type novel about a girl who is not as wholesome as Nancy Drew (and not quite as badass as V. Mars, but then again who is?)

What are you all reading?

Veronica Mars

Holy freaking hell I cannot wait for this!!

Ah!

Adults reading YA: Is there a stigma?

     I am 26. I realize that, technically, I'm closer to 30 now than 20, and am therefore no longer in my early twenties but in my mid-twenties (ugh, I'm still processing that...) At my library the YA section is in the Children's section, in a separate room and floor from the regular adult section. Suffice it to say, this makes me feel a little bit weird about browsing in there. I can't be alone in this, right?

     Here's the thing, though. The themes present in YA novels are the same themes present in novels for adults: sex, love, lust, civil unrest, violence, family issues, etc. My library even has The Hunger Games series stocked I'm both the adult and YA section, and novels by Dickens and Shakespeare are also in the YA section.

     I've realized through blogging that I am absolutely not the only adult who reads YA. A big portion of the buzz and support for YA novels and authors comes from bloggers, a good portion of whom are in their 20's. Books like Harry Potter, Twilight, and the Hunger Games broke a lot of barriers in the literature department, and it isn't uncommon to see older adults reading these novels that have been made into epic movies.

     So why is there still a stigma to adults reading YA? Why is it still looked down upon as a somehow lesser form of literature, when the themes are similar to ones Shakespeare wrote about, and his novels are considered timeless classics and, in my high school at least, required reading? Is this stigma imagined?

Waiting on Wednesday

Hey all! Wednesday is upon us once again, so that means it's time for Waiting on Wednesday. Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Basically it's an opportunity to share a book whose arrival you're anxiously awaiting.

I always end up adding a ton of awesome books to my TBR list because of this meme! : )

This week my pick is:

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen

I have read some seriously mixed reviews of this book, but I can't wait to get my hands on it. I love Kierstn White's writing, and I've been anticipating the release of this novel since before the cover art (beautiful, beautiful cover art!!) was released.

What are you all waiting on? Leave me links, the books on my TBR list could use some company! ; )

P.s I'm rewatching Charmed (Netflix!), and is it just me or did they change the theme music? They totally did the same thing to Dawson's Creek! WTH, world?

Golden by Jessi Kirby

Golden by Jessi Kirby
Published: May 14, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

     Julianna Farnetti had the kind of relationship depicted in romance novels, the kind of love that all teenage girls dream of finding for themselves someday. She and her boyfriend, Shane Cruz, are the golden couple of their small town, their future all mapped out before them. When she and Shane are killed in a car accident their senior year of high school they become almost mythical figures, larger than life.

     Parker Frost is the girl who plays it safe. Ever since her poet father left her business-minded mother, Parker has felt pressured to tramp down that side of herself and succeed, which means good grades, perfect attendance, and extracurriculars galore so that she can get into Stanford. Her best friend (and my new fictional bestie) Kat warns Parker that she's missing out on a lot of things that make life interesting and makes Parker promise to do one unexpected thing before graduation.

     When Parker stumbles upon Julianna's senior year English project, a diary she kept that was meant to capture candidly who she was at 17 and who she aspired to be, and, against her own nature, begins reading it, Parker is launched into the middle of a life very different from  her own, and a 10 year old mystery. Was Julianna Farnetti the golden girl everybody thought she was?

     This book has a perfect blend of romance, mystery, adventure and angst, and Julianna's story is intense and completely engrossing. I had a hard time putting this book down, and got a little mad every time I got interrupted. I loved this book so much, and unraveling this mystery with Parker and watching her (tentatively) step out of her shell and become more confidant in herself was amazing.

     I also loved the incredibly realistic relationship between Parker and Kat. I hate reading a novel where the 'best friend' is just a prop but Kat felt like an actual, three-dimensional person to me, and her encouragement, support, and frustrations made me love her that much more. She urges Parker to try new things, supports her in her college dreams, and nudges her in the direction of the boy Parker's been crushing on since the 7th grade (Trevor Collins....just....sigh....) Kat is fantastic.

     If you are a fan of Sarah Dessen, or if you remember what it was like to be 17 you should definitely check out this book. LOVE.

Gimmie Gimmie

Hey-Oh! Guess what! I'm back from my super-secret, I'd-tell-you-what-I-was-doing-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you break from blogging! Yay!

To celebrate my return, I thought I would rock a giveaway to shamelessly win back my followers and maybe, if I'm lucky, get some new ones. So, what do you say? Want a free book? : D

Here's the deal:

Enter your info in the Rafflecopter below

The contest runs until the end of the month
Winner will be announced here and on Twitter

Choose your loot!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

iBook: Pick or Pass

Hola, fellow Bibliofreak! Are you like me? Broke, with an unrelenting love of books?

     My latest hobby is bopping merrily around the iBook store in search of things that are A. Palatable, B. Hidden gems, or C. Laughably bad. Since we're all friends here, and I wouldn't want you all to waste your time wading through some of the crap that's out there, I thought I would share my findings with you. Because sharing is caring. Thus we have my new (sure to be sporadic) feature, iBook: Pick or Pass.

Leashed by Zoe Dawson
Published: September 29, 2012
Publisher: Blue Moon Creative

     This novella (26K words) is the first in a series, Gone to the Dogs. As you can probably tell, dogs are a pretty big plot point in the world Zoe Dawson writes about.

     Our heroine, Callie Lassiter, is a dog trainer who comes from a family of dog breeders, Great Danes specifically. There was a lot of information about dog breeds, dams and sires (that's probably incorrect terminology, I've already forgotten what they're actually called.) This was knowledge I didn't previously have and would probably have survived another 20 years without caring about, but it adds authenticity to the story, I suppose.

     Our love interest is Owen McKay, Callie's neighbor and...I don't really know what to say about Owen McKay. He is a wealthy club owner/bad boy/notorious womanizer who is wearing leather pants when we first meet him. LEATHER PANTS. I don't know. On the one hand, Owen is essentially a trope. A bad boy with a reputation for bedding hotties who has a heart of gold and a serious soft spot for his Aunt Mildred, but for some reason I actually kinda dug Owen, when he wasn't making with the awkward dialogue (seriously, some of the stuff that came out of these people's mouths was cringe-inducing.)

     Callie's Great Dane, Jack, knocks up Owen's Great Dane, Jill, ensuring that they will have to spend time with one another for the remainder of the book while we wait for Jill to give birth (it's called Whelping. Did you know that? I did not know that.)

     This book is super cutesy, a pretty quick read, and written well enough that it's possible to overlook the trope-y ness of it all. It also serves to introduce Callie's set of dog-loving friends who, I assume, will be the stars of other books in this series. If you're in the mood for something light and fluffy then you could do a lot worse than Leashed.

Verdict: Pick

Teaser Tuesday

Hey ya'll! It's Teaser Tuesday again! This is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should be Reading in which we book lovers get to share a little taste of what we're currently reading. Want to get involved?

*Grab your current read
*Flip to a random page
*Share two 'teaser' sentences from anywhere on that page
*Avoid spoilers!! Don't be that person who ruins a book for someone else. BOO!
*Share the title & author so that other readers can check out the book, too.

Here's my TT for this week!

"'I'm sorry,' I said. Then I slashed the blade. The world held it's breath for me as Sean's blood fell. "

Pg. 197 of Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride

I loved the first book in this series, it was funny and different from a lot of the other supernatural-based YA novels I've read lately.

What are you reading?!

Soon to be Read Saturdays!

Hi guys! This is something a little new I'm trying out, Soon to be Read Saturdays (StbRS). I thought it would be a neat and simple way for me to share what I have at the top of my TBR pile, and that way you know what reviews to expect the coming weeks. Fun, right?!

Please feel free to participate! I would love to see what you all have in your stacks. :)

Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride

A Study in Revenge by Kieran Shields

The Curiosities by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff
















It's going to be a good week! What are you all reading?

Jumping on the Bloglovin' bandwagon!

     Hey all! As you may or may not have heard, Google Friend Connect either is or is not going to be shut down July 1st/not July 1st but sometime in the near future. Seriously, the rumors surrounding this are crazypants and I tried searching Google for some kind of reliable information and keep coming up with squat. 

     

     Regardless, I know that a lot of people use Bloglovin' and so I checked it out, liked what I saw, and signed up. Now you can stalk my blog in a myriad of interesting ways! Yay! :) 

What do you all think? Do you have info/links from any reliable sources?

Return to the real world

     Man, life after vacation is tough! I had such a great time away, though, and I was so much fun to explore somewhere I had never been before. Now I have to catch up on everything I missed while I was gone!

     Hope you all had a good April, and I will return to regular posting a.s.a.p!

Vacation!

Hey all!

I'm going on vacation for a few weeks, so I will not be blogging during that time period. Two weeks is like a year in blogland, so I hope y'all don't forget me! I will also be avoiding Facebook, e-mail, my phone and all my real world responsibilities during this time period if that's any consolation. : )

Hope you all have a good few weeks! Read wonderful things!

Waiting on Wednesday

     Hey!! It's Wednesday! Yay! I'm super excited because A. Wednesday means it's time for another Waiting on Wednesday and I get to float around to some of my favorite blogs and stalk their posts and B. It means I only have 5 days before I go on vacation. AHH! Sorry. I'm contained now, I swear.

Okay, so WoW. Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we get the chance to highlight an upcoming release that we're stoked for. Ready for mine? Sure you are!

The Dream Thieves
by Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: September 17, 2013 (so far away!!!)

     Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after.

     If you read my blog you know I have some seriously madlove for Maggie Stiefvater. I fell so deeply into the world of The Raven Boys and I absolutely CANNOT wait to read the sequel, which unfortunately doesn't come out for some time. Boo! : ( Totally worth the wait, though.

I've heard some mixed feelings about the cover, but I love it, and I loved the cover for The Raven Boys, too. I may have to break my self-imposed book buying ban and add this series to my library.

P.S If you want more info/extras/to heighten your anticipation for this release you can check out Maggie's website for this series. I spent a fair bit of time there myself. : ) There's playlists, a book trailer, teasers, etc.

SO! What are you all waiting on? Leave me links! I love links!

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti (a quick review!)

Title/Author: Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: August 30, 2005
Buy It: Amazon / Book Depository

     "Right away I got that Something About To Happen feeling. Right away I knew he was bad, and that it didn't matter."

     It is summer in the Northwest town of Nine Mile Falls, and sixteen-year-old Ruby McQueen, ordinarily dubbed The Quiet Girl, finds herself hanging out with gorgeous, rich, thrill-seeking Travis Becker. But Ruby is in over her head, and finds she is risking more and more when she's with him.

     In an effort to keep Ruby occupied, Ruby's mother Ann drags Ruby to the weekly book club she runs. When it is discovered that one of the group's own members is the subject of a tragic love story they are reading, Ann and Ruby spearhead a reunion between the long-ago lovers. But for Ruby, the mission turns out to be more than just a road trip...

     Sometimes you do things even when you know they're bad for you. Sometimes you step outside yourself a little in order to see yourself, and who you are, more clearly. This story about Ruby McQueen, her relationship with the so-wrong-for-her Travis Becker, and an impromptu road trip and kidnapping that is the true love story of the novel is so complex and honest that I would lay odds that any girl will be able to relate to it.

    This book is filled with wisdom, ridiculousness, humor, love, sadness and heartbreak, and the most interesting book club ever. This is my second Deb Caletti novel, and she once again manages to inject poignancy, grace, and beauty into a unique story about a teenage girl trying to find out who she is.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"A man's identity is complete through action, a woman's, when she has  a man. Through him. We fall off our high heels into the narrow crevasse of what it means to be female. Let me tell you. You fall in love and you think you're finding yourself. But too often you're looking inside him for you, and that's a fact. There's only one place you can find yourself." She thumped her chest.

Review of Also Known As by Robin Benway

Title/Author: Also Known As by Robin Benway
Publisher: Bloomsbury Juvenile US
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Buy It: Amazon / Book Depository

     Being a sixteen-yaer-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

     Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case...all while trying not to blow her cover.

     Hmmm.... Okay, here we go. This book was absolutely mediocre. Middle-of-the-road. For every thing that I liked about it there's something I strongly didn't. Where should I start?

Robin Benway did a really fantastic job of creating characters that are realistic. The way that they speak to one another and their responses to certain social situations rang true for me. Roux, Jesse, and Maggie behave exactly the way actual teenagers do, which is nice because sometimes I read a novel and all I can think is "Yeah right, because all 17 year olds are this self-aware". Robin Benway's characters screw up, they are shy and nervous, sometimes bold and (hilariously) drunk, and lonely. They're perfect.

On the other hand, being able to write realistic teenagers does not mean that you can thrust them into any old situation and make it seem genuine. I don't know if it's lack of relevant details or being spoiled by very well written caper-type novels (Ally Carters Heist Society, duh) but I just couldn't buy Maggie and her family as spies. Which wouldn't be such a big deal except that it's (obviously) incredibly central to the plot.

Speaking of plot, it was pretty thin and at certain points there were *gasp* holes.

This was a quick read and while I didn't hate it, it didn't exactly leave a mark on me, either. There were a few times where I laughed out loud, and the relationship between Jesse and Maggie is really funny, awkward and lovely (except for the last 1/3 of the book where there are far-too-early in the relationship declarations of love) but overall this book fell flat for me.

I would say that it's worth a read, for sure, but probably pick up a copy at the library before you buy to make sure it's something you'll actually want to bother reading more than once. I know I don't.

**Side note: Robin Benways' Audrey, Wait! was really wonderful, and you should NOT skip that one. : ) **  

Teaser Tuesday

Hello fellow readers! Today is Tuesday which means it's Teaser Tuesday time! I love alliterations : ) So, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading in which readers/bloggers get to stoke the fires of bibliolove by sharing a few snatches of whatever they're currently reading. Wanna get involved? Yeah you do! It's easy.

*Grab your current read
*Flip to a random page
*Share two 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page (without spoiling the book for anyone by giving too much away!)
*Share author/title so that other readers can salivate and add the book to their TBR piles

"I'll get the documents," I insisted when no one said anything. "Trust me, okay? I've got this."

I had no idea what I was doing.

Pg. 177 of Also Known As by Robin Benway


     I love a good spy novel! I've burned through the Heist Society novels (with the exception of the last, which I'm waiting on!) and I loved Audrey, Wait!, Robin Benway's previous book. Can't wait to get into this one! : )

What are you all reading?! Leave me links in the comments.

Review of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Title/Author: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
Buy It: Amazon / Book Depository

     It happens at the start of every November: The Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

     At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

     Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition-the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
     
     I once read a review of Maggie Stiefvater's writing that called it lyrical, and I would have to say that that is the perfect description. She has some kind of magic, weaving together improbably stories and making them seem so real they can break your heart, which to my way of thinking is the mark of a truly talented writer. There is a rhythm and cadence to her writing that invites you to sink down into it's depths and become absorbed by it, and trust me, you will become wonderfully enamored by the world she's created in this gem of a novel.

     This book is moody, atmospheric, and enthralling. It kept me up long into the night and it was 100 percent worth the exhaustion the next day. There is a subtle artistry in the growth of her characters, and the developments in the complicated and realistically depicted relationships between them.

     This story, alternating between Sean and Puck's viewpoints, starts off simply enough and throughout the narratives we get to know Puck and her brothers and follow her as she does the unthinkable: becomes the first girl to enter the Scorpio Races. She is met with opposition, but she is a strong and determined character and I was cheering her on as she faced down her adversaries with a bravery and surety that I wished I possessed.

     Returning champion Sean Kendrick has reasons of his own for wanting to win the Scorpio Races this year, and as the stakes are heightened throughout the novel he stands to lose everything he loves if he doesn't. I absolutely loved everything about Sean. He is steady as a heartbeat, quiet, still, and magnetic. Despite the fact that they are competitors, Sean and Puck are drawn to one another and ultimately end up training together.

     Throughout this novel Sean and Puck are forced to face several truths about themselves and the lives they've lead on the tiny island they both love, navigate the beginnings of a new friendship, deal with opposition and outright hostility from several different factions, and attempt to survive an event that regularly takes the lives of those who compete.

     I loved everything about this book. It made me laugh, made me grunt in frustration, broke my heart, and made me fall in love with Sean Kendrick and cheer for Puck with all my heart. This is what young adult fiction should be, and you NEED to read this book.