Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Review: The Knife of never letting go by Patrick Ness

Title: The knife of never letting go
Author:Patrick Ness
Pages:496
Series:Chaos walking #1
Publish Date:May 5th 2008
goodreads page

GoodReads summary:


Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?




My  review

I finished this book about a week ago. Sadly I couldn't find the time to make this review and am just now getting to it. Sorry guys:(  

Todd has grown up in a town that is only occupied men and one boy-him as long as he can remember. All woman died out when he was little at least that is what he was told his whole childhood. With a month until his birthday Todd discovers something amazing, a girl. Even more amazing she doesn't have noise at all and is completely silent. 
His discovery forces him to flee to a world he never knew existed. He was taught that his town was the only one left after a brutal war with the aliens. Todd  embarks on an adventure  of self discovery and the mystery of his home town.

When  you open  up this book the first thing you notice is the language of this book. When I first looked at what the writing was I thought I would not be able to enjoy it because of the way it was written but a few pages into the book and you get every thing they are saying with out any real big issues.

Something I try to avoid is books with  a pet in them like a dog. Manchee though was amazing to read about. His loyalty to Todd was amazing plus the fact that he could talk made me a tad bit disappointed in my own dog!

Viola and Todd's relationship (non romantic) is amazing it really does grow and evolve through out the book and is really amazing to watch unfold. One of  the major problems I had with this book was Todd which sucks since he is the main character.

Todd was a very stubborn and just plain stupid character at many different points in the story. His pride showed at the randomness time ever and made me want to groan in frustration every time he did something stupid.  It wasn't over small things that made me upset it was big things like the fact he can not read but wouldn't  let anyone else read the paper he needed to read.

Viola on the other hand was very clever and wise through out the story. When ever Todd did something wrong and made me angry with him Viola always had something to say  to him that made me go "Thank You".

The most annoying part of the book though is the reoccurring pop up  of a character that seems to pop up at the most random of times. It kinda felt like the author got stuck in his plot so he decided to bring back this character any chance he could get.

Lastly the ending of this book was a huge cliff hanger. It was rather predictable but it was still pretty interesting. I think I would of been more upset about the cliff hanger if I I would of read the book back when it was first published since the next two books are at my library I wasn't really desperate to check out the new book.

I give this book a 3.5/5

Blessed reading,
~Arya~ 
  


NaNo button



Hey guys I forget to post this in my last post. This is my NaNo button so you can watch my progress as the month goes on.
If you would like to see another challenge I am participating  in check out my 1 million page challenge post. 
I will be working on putting the widgets in the sidebar soon but for now you can view them in their rightful posts.

NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow!!!!


    NaNoWriMo is right around the corner!! I am so excited this is my first year participating. I am extremely nervous but I think I can do it. I know what I want to use as a idea but didn't over plan it so I am really excited about where it is going to go. Friday I am going on a field trip where the bus ride will take a little over 4 hours so I should be able to get a lot of word count out early so I don't have a lot to worry later on in the competition.
   I have watched a lot of videos on tips for the challenge as well as read a lot about it too.If you have any tips or bouts of encouragement please do share. For all those who are participating good luck to you and I hope you have a lot of fun while you write.

                                                           Blessed Reading and Writing
                                                                           ~Arya~

Monday, October 29, 2012

Musing Monday Oct. 29


Hi guys so this is my first Musing Monday  If you don't know anything about the meme you can check out more information about it and its creator here  The creator of this meme is MizB at should Be Reading.
This week’s musing asks…
Do you have people online that you often discuss the books you read with? Not just book groups, but individual readers who share the same taste in books? If so, what do you like best about this? If not, do you wish you did?
My answer:
I do not have any book groups our individuals online or in real life that share the same interests in books as me. I am rather new to book blogging which is one of the reasons I haven't found anyone yet to have a book discussion with. If you are reading this post please check out some of the other posts on my blog. I would really appreciate any advice or comments any  of you guys are willing to share.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Review:Daughter of Smoke and Bones by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Pages: 417
Publish Date: September 27th 2011
Publisher: little,brown, and company
Series: Daughter of smoke and bone #1
Read in: 2 days
Link: Goodreads



Book Summary

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In  a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou, She fills her sketchbooks with monster that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages - not all of them human: and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers- beautiful haunted Akiva- fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?    


My Review

Cover: I decided to add a section on covers starting with this one. In all honesty I love unique book covers and this cover is defiantly something in my eyes. The blue mask is really stunning to the black and white background and drew me in immediately. The cover does go with the story but I feel it could go even better if it was a girl with blue hair to represent Karou just a little bit more. 

Plot: This plot is so amazing and unique. I have never seen a story line the same as this one before. Karou is trying to find out who she is. Her first memories are of being raised by these monsters she sketches and she desperately  wants to know who she is and how she ended up in the care of these creatures. Karou runs errands for Brimstone ,the creature that raised her, collecting teeth yes, I did just say teeth! Karou doesn't know what they are for but she still collects them for him whenever he calls for her.
Karou starts to question everything she knows when she meets Akiva. Someone who is threatening everything she has ever known.

Negatives: Karou and Akiva had this instant love thing as soon as Akiva showed up again. How they ended up "friends" had me saying "really!" 
Other than that the whole flashback part of the story was over whelming and the premise of reincarnation was a totally saw that coming moment.

Positives: Karou,Karou,and Karou!
I loved the characters and the fact that the book had angels vs. "demons" feel.
The world building was amazing and the character's personalities was displayed perfectly. You ended up with a very good feel for all the characters. Even if the characters were not major characters.

That ending!!!! I don't even know what to say about that ending.
My mouth was gaping like a fish!!!
I was like really REALLY!!!!!

 I really can't wait until the sequel is published and I can get my hands on a copy.

My Rating 4/5





Thursday, October 18, 2012

1 million pages challenge

Hi guys I am back and a new review will be posted very soon. In the mean time I want to talk about a challenge I have entered. So the challenge is from Goodreads a book group on there that keeps track of how many pages they have read with a goal to read 1 million pages in their life time. So I have started this challenge today with the books that I have read this year starting with the books from this school year.
The page if you are interested is here
My ticker






So I have a lot of reading to do. In fact I estimated how long it would take me based on how many books I read and the average page number and it said it would take me about 23 years. I best start reading

Good reading,
~Arya~

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Another small hiatus

Sorry guys I haven't been posting lately but I am trying to get more organized before school restarts next week. I am in the process of coming up with a schedule for this blog. If I have it written out for me in a visible place than it is more likely to happen. For school this year I have been more organized and it seems to of helped there so I figured it should help for this as well. Another thing I have been trying to do is create a second blog for crafts and artsy things as well as random blog posts like this. I should be up and running for this blog before I go back to school and probably ready in a few days with a book review and a book haul from the library

With Love
~Arya~

Monday, October 8, 2012

Review:Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl

Title:Beautiful Darkness
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 
Publisher: Little,Brown, and company
Publish Date: October 12th 2010
Series: Caster Chronicles #2
Pages: 503 
Read In: 7 days
Link: goodreads page

GoodReads Summary

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

My Review

This is the second book in the caster chronicles so if you haven't seen my Beautiful Creatures review or have not read the book than please do so before you read the rest of this post.

About a two weeks a go I posted a review for the first book in this series.

My problems I had in that book was the lag in the story line and the character Lena.

In this one I felt that there wasn't really any lag and even  the over load of information from the first book was necessary for the plot line of this book and this series.  A lot of the mysteries from the first book are solved as well as a whole bunch of new problems are brought out and new questions enter the story.

On to Lena. Hmm for Lena I really am indifferent I really don't love her or hate her. One second she does something stupid the next I feel for her. All and all I guess I have a love-hate relationship for her. Ethan on the other hand I really LOVE  I love that his character is evolving and growing. While Lena kinda feels flat to me.

My favorite character for this book is Liv (just because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read the second book yet) Liv is a new character in the second book who becomes really important to the plot line. She is British and studying to be a Keeper. What book isn't awesome with a little British humor?

  I really liked this book and plan to continue the series soon. I have the third book and will read it sometime soon. I hope the third book is just as awesome as this one if not even better. 

My Rating 4.5/5
Lena is what made this book not 5 stars for me

Good reading,
~Arya~

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Review: Throat by R.A. Nelson

Title: Throat
Author: R.a Nelson
Pages: 464
Publisher:Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publish Date:January 25th 2011
Read In: 2 days

Link:Goodreads page

GoodReads Summary

R. A. Nelson takes us on a supernatural thrill ride, a modern-day vampire story set on a NASA base and filled with space-and-science intrigue. Seventeen-year-old Emma feels cursed by her epilepsy—until the lost night. She's shocked to wake up in the hospital one morning, weak from blood loss. When her memories begin to return, she pieces together that it was a man—a monster—who attacked her: a vampire named Wirtz. And it was her very condition that saved her: a grand mal seizure interrupted Wirtz and left Emma with all the amazing powers of a vampire—heightened senses, rapid speed—but no need to drink blood. Is Emma now a half-vampire girl? One thing soon becomes clear: the vampire Wirtz is fierce and merciless, feared even by his own kind, and won't leave a job undone.


My Review

I picked this book up at my schools library I was in between books and had no idea when I would be going to the library next so I dropped by quickly before my first period.
This book was a new book at our library displayed front and center when you walk into the room. 
I grabbed the book without even reading the inside flap.

This book is told through the character Emma. Emma is seventeen and suffers from epilepsy. One night after an attack from her epilepsy she steals her mother's car trying to get a way from everyone. She ends up in the hands of Wirtz a vampire who tries to kill her but fails because she had an attack. 
Emma wakes up with out any memory of the night in the hospital. She later finds she has unique abilities no other human should have. Wirtz starts to visit her at night through a link that "creators " and "children" possess and threatens her family resulting in Emma running away from home to protect her family.  She ends up at NASA where she meets Sagan a trainee astronomer who helps her  survive and eventually falls in love with him

This book I really liked how there was a new and unique twist on the vampire theme. I like how the book also added science themes and the caves was also really cool. One of my favorite things about this book is it doesn't glorify that all vampires are awesome at the beginning. You know human changed by a totally awesome vampire that the reader is suppose to really like. 
The book also has two separate groups of vampires those who wish to get rid of the "curse" and those who don't. 

Another aspect I love about this book is there is some really great fighting scenes. Lastly I love Sagan!  Sagan is such an awesome character. I'll admit it I usually love the male characters more than the girls but Sagan is completely lovable. I like that the love interest is clever and and smart with out being supernatural or a monster hunter/hater like most of the other books out there. 

The only things I didn't really love was the cliff hanger ending and that their was so much that felt like it was left out or that there should of been more in certain parts of the story. As far as I know this book is a stand alone but I may be wrong. If it is a stand alone than I am a little bit disappointed in all of the hangers if not than I will probably pick up the next book in the series since I really do like the world R.A. Nelson has created.

My Rating 3.5/5


Blessed Reading
~Arya~

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Reading Habits Tag



So lots of tags are popular in the YouTube community so I thought since I don't have a YouTube I would bring some of the ones I have seen over to my blog in a blogging format

So the first one I have picked happens to be the Reading Habits Tag

I do not who founded this tag but if you do please leave a comment so I can give said person the credit they deserve!

So Lets begin!!!!!

Tag Questions:
When do you read? I read any time that I can but I always read before bed it helps me unwind! Unless its just that good then I" won't get any sleep at all!

Where do you read? Like I said above I read in bed but I will read anywhere if I have the time to read.

How many books do you read at once? Usually 2 what ever I read for fun and my book for school. I have read up to 5 books but I prefer to read only 2 if possible

Do you take breaks while reading? Yes, If I have been reading for a long time than I might take a little break and sometimes a tiny break to get a snack or something to drink.

Do you skim through books? Sometimes but only for school. like the short stories they make us read. I actually like all the novels we have read so I didn't skim those.

How long does it take you to finish a book? Anywher from a day to a week depends on how busy I am and how captivating the book is

It was really fun to finally be able to say my answers to these questions and I hope to do more tag questions in the future.

~Arya~

Book Haul 9/25/12


First three books are from my public library


Beautiful Darkness 
grabbed this book after I finished the first in the series.
So far this one is SO much better than the first.


Hunger Games
I finally have taken the plunge!
I have already finished this book but I will not be writing a review

The daughter of Smoke and Bone 
so this book has been raved on in the booktuber community so I picked it up
reading it next after Beautiful Disaster.

These to books are from my school's library. I picked them up before I went to the public library
Throat 
I just picked it up because it was new to my schools library 
read it already and a review will be posted tomorow 


Beautiful Chaos
I  picked this up thinking it was the second book!
will read this one soon but I got two weeks before I have to read it so it can wait.

Good reading to you
~Arya~



Friday, October 5, 2012

Update :School Break!

School Break is finally here!


Hey guys so today is my first day of my break from school!

1 quarter done 3 to go  until graduation!

Anyways I will be out of school for 2 weeks 
we go back the 22nd.

So expect a more posts at a more regular schedule as of know as well as trying to come up with a more regular schedule for when school resumes.

Tomorrow I will be posting a book haul as well as a another blog post that is undecided at this moment.

Another book review hopely posted on the 10th or maybe even tomorrow  depending on if I have the time for it

Last note for this little update I have finally read 
The Hunger Games
I know I am like the last person ever to read the book!
I thought it was good but I will not be writing a review since I feel everything has already been said about this book already.

Still unsure if I will be continuing the series
I have heard that the second book is better than the first so I might pick up the book when my library gets the copy back in

Happy reading to you
~Arya~



Book Review: What happened to goodbye? by Sarah Dessen

Title:What happened to goodbye
Author:Sarah Dessen
Publish date:May 10th 2011
Publisher:Viking Juvenille
Pages:402
Read In:2 day
Link: Goodreads page


Goodreads Summary

Who is the real McLean? 

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out. 

Combining Sarah Dessen's trademark graceful writing, great characters, and compelling storytelling, What Happened to Goodbye is irresistible reading.


My Summary

First off I absolutely love Sarah Dessen. I have read all of her books up to this one and was very happy to get my hands on this one as well. If you have ever read Sarah's books you may of noticed a similar trend in all of her books. Her main character has a problem (that she may or may not  see as a problem) as well as a romance aspect that helps the character realize they have an issue.

This book is really no different. Sarah's books are predictable but I love the worlds she builds.  As well as the fact she touches on such serious issues or more common issues we see or hear about all the time. Her characters are always so well thought out have there own problems making them very realistic and you can connect to at least one of them in every book. 

I really don't have anything to say that really makes this one of her books stand out to me since all of her books are so similar. Don't get me wrong I love ANYTHING by her and will always be a loyal fan but I wasn't overly impressed. 

So if  you are a fan of Sarah Dessen and have read her other books than check this one out. If you have just discovered her or have heard of her I defiantly suggest you check out some of her earlier work before this one. 

I will still be buying this book as well as probably rereading it again in the future! What can I say I just Sarah Dessen that much!

My Rating 3/5

just because the originality is lacking

Blessed reading to you
~Arya~