In My Mailbox #14

In My Mailbox is a bookish meme hosted by Kristi The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

I had my best book week in a very very long time! I got so many books that I have been looking forward to reading! And I went to our big 5 story library in my city this week. You would think that a library with 5 freaking stories would have a whole story dedicated to YA books, but no, I guess they're going for the whole quality vs. quantity thing which is fine I suppose. Anyways the books I got are really great, but there is a down side... you'll see...

Bought:

Betrayals by. Lili St. Crow 

Oh how overdue this purchase was!

 Contest:

(from Online Publicist)

Manifest by. Artist Arthur

and

This incredible tote bag, which is so pretty. The cover image showed up really vivid and it's signed!!! It's hanging beautifully next to my bookshelf so I can easily access it for library trips!!! 

Thank you so much Artist Arthur and Online Publicist, I look forward to reading this one!

Library:

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

I heard about this book a while back, and I just now decided to pick it up. Can't go wrong with Meg Cabot!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, David Levithan 

 I know I am going to love this one. Which for is why I don't think I am going to read it until I purchase it. I'm weird that way. I know I am going to love it, so I want it to be my own so I can add it the my shelf and re-read it to my heart's desire. Again, I'm weird that way. You'll probably see this book next week under my BOUGHT section of IMM.

Wings (Wings, #1) by Aprilynne Pike

 I've heard many many mixed reviews on this book so I decided to get it at the library.

Kin (The Good Neighbors, #1) by Holly Black (Goodreads Author), Ted Naifeh (Illustrator) 

 Also wanted this for a while, but it seems to be at a limited availability everywhere!

Vampire Kisses: The Beginning (Vampire Kisses, #1-3) by. Ellen Schreiber [not pictured]

 Already read these books about 100 times. But sadly, I don't own them. This is where libraries especially come in handy. Probably my favorite series to re-read!

Library- for school books: 

Lo and behold the dreaded reason I mentioned about not being able to read all of the amazing above books for a while. 4 words: AP English Summer Assignments.

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Ugh, I haven't had much luck with the past books I had to read for AP English so to say I am not looking forward to these books would be the biggest understatement ever. And this is only 2 of the three. Anybody ever read Sophie's World?

 School starts in about two weeks which means I am going to have a while to read the three books and do the rest of my AP homework I have procrastinated on, but all these other books look so good. This is my attempt at disciplining myself and prioritizing...so far, not working out. But hope springs eternal :).

Don't forget to tell me what you guys got in your mailboxes!

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Collector, Hoarder, or Lover?

Which one are you?  Myself, I make up the collector and lover part of the equation. Of course I am talking about books. A long while back, Donna from Bites did a post that I don't really remember what it was about, but it brought on a very passionate response from most who read the post. One comment in particular stood out to me about hoarding books. Of course, I was quick to think this comment was insulting, but when I look out if from the perspective of someone to whom books do not carry the same meaning as to me, this could be how they see it.

Personally I consider myself, a lover and collector. I am a lover, because I love to read and I love books. I guess they sort of go hand in hand together. I'm pretty much always in the middle of a book. I like to have a book I can come home and finish reading or continue at all times. My name is Chioma, and I am a compulsive book buyer...sue me!

I would also consider myself a collector. Not sure why, it just kind of goes with the way I am so obsessively a perfectionist when it comes to my books. Example 1: I recently read the first book in the Georgia Nicolson series Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. I didn't particularly like it, but now that I have the first one on my shelf, I must have the rest (which I have already ordered). Why you ask, because I want to and they will look so pretty all together on my bookshelf (Don't get me wrong, I'll probably read them...eventually).  Example 2: Lets take a look at the picture on the right. Perfectly normal section of my bookshelf. Except for the giant hardcover copy of Twilight Mediator Series Book 6 next to the rest of the series. Something had to be done about the situation, so of course I am indeed looking into buying the paperback copy. Do I need it, of course not, must I have it, of course! I, like many of you out there, have been known to buy books out of shear "prettiness" of the covers as well as just because I want to have the series. I have the first 3 books in 2 manga series that I haven't even began reading yet. I see interesting looking books, I want, so I buy! It's just the way I am!

In my opinion, those who truly love reading books and are true book lovers at heart, can't be book hoarders. I know I have an emotional attachment to my books, but its not just because they are objects that I don't want to part with. Each book means something different whether I liked it or not. They are all different in significance, depending on the story, when I read them, and I can honestly say, I would re-read almost all of the books on my bookshelf at any time.

In conclusion, I am both a lover and a collector. The idea that some people might consider my accumulation of books as hoarding never even occurred to me until I read that post. I mean I barely even have a TBR pile since I don't request ARC's and I usually only buy two books at a time, but I still have over 20 books that need to be read and to some that may be considered a lot. No real point to this post, that comment has just been hanging in my head for a while!

Thank you! 

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Review: The Iron King by. Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Age Range: 11+
Publication Date: January 21 2010,  Harlequin Teen
Pages: 363
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 8/10

 Synopsis from Goodreads: Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.

Review:  The Iron King bundled everything I enjoy about faerie books into one convenient package. Equipped with oblivious faerie heroine (oblivious to the fact the she is a faerie, as well as oblivious to...other things), hot romance, and kick butt fight scenes!

I thought it was great the way the story expanded from just the first story line. A quest to find a kidnapped loved one turns into the beginning of a war, as well as the beginning of a romance. It all flowed together well and the characters were well developed. I love the reoccurring roles of the Seelie and Unseelie courts in the faerie world. Such an adventurous plot that had so much at stake all at once. The romance also fit together perfectly. I didn't feel like it was just a separate point in the book, it just flowed very nicely with the book.

The characters, such a variety of characters there were. My #1 is definitely Puck! Puck was the funnest character I've read on in a long long time. He was always upbeat and funny and protective of Meghan, though I think she took it for granted... Anyways Meghan was pleasantly not the same character I pegged her to be in the first few chapters of the book. Once she is on a mission, she turns her intelligence on and uses it to her advantage. Of course she could be very impulsive at times, but who wouldn't be in her situation i.e kidnapped siblings and possible wars. Ash got on my nerves most of the book, but I didn't completely dislike him. He was actually pretty cool to read about, and had more layers to him than meets the eye. Though he seemed not only stoic but so scripted at times. He was so by the book I questioned whether he had any emotions or thoughts of his own at all at times.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next installment. Loved the characters, loved the plot, and loved the set up for the next books in the series. As a lasting statement I would like to leave you all with this: GO TEAM PUCK!!!

Recommendations:  Everyone who loves faeries will love this book. And those who enjoyed Wondrous Strange will love this book just as much!


Overall: 8/10 

Characters: 8/10 
Plot: 9/10
Originality: 7/10 
Entertainment: 8/10 
Ending: 9/10 
Writing Style: 10/10 
Cover: 10/10

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Top 10 Favorite Books (currently...)

Here is a list of my top 10 favorite books!
My favorite books change weekly if not daily. Probably the next book I decided to read this week, is going to end up being one of my favorites. Probably just because I only read books I am really sure I am going to love!

But I really tried to narrow it down to get a good combination of all time favorites, and my current favorites. I tried very much to rank them, but it got hard to choose so it's kind of in no particular order, but not exactly!

10. Uglies Saga - It would be impossible to create this list without giving most credit to this series. If my best friend hadn't given me the first book in the series to read back in the 8th grade, I would not have even know a Young Adult genre existed. I fully hail credit to this series for the love of reading I have today, (this and fictionpress.com but that's another story). This series is forever one of my favorites. It's futuristic fiction, with sci-fi, and romance, and so much action, and betrayal, and drama, and all that good stuff!

9.  Vampire Kisses- To be honest, I probably never would have heard of this book if I hadn't read an excerpt of the second book of this series in Seventeen Magazine. Oh yes, you heard that right, way back 3 summers ago. And it wasn't just any excerpt, they extracted the sexiest, most thrilling, and romantic part of the book they could find and just stamped it right on a page. I was at a lost, and thus, a vampire fanatic was born. These books are so sweet and romantic and I like how they take me back to the traditional Draculaesk vampires from back in the day. You know the Gothic, batty, princesses and princes of the night!

8. The Dark Hunters Series- Favorite adult series by far. No doubt. I don't really like to compare books but I love this series for the same reason so many adore J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. Sherrilyn Kenyon's characters are all so different and individual and unique characters that I can't help but get attached. I like each character for a different reason because they are all so developed and original. All the guys are different and have you falling in love with all of them throughout the series!

 7. Asleep [review]- This is one of the books I am painstakingly awaiting the sequel to. It is really an incredibly book with amazing characters! I can say with complete content that if I could only have one fictional guy brought to life for my amusement (and staring privileges), it would definitely be Micah. Tall, dark, superhero Micah. He can fly...nuf said!

6. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side [review]- This book blew me out of the water ten-fold! I don't know why because Beth Fantaskey's other book Jekel Loves Hyde was completely amazing I should have expected as much. But WOW. This book represents a paranormal romance at its ABSOLUTE best! Lucius is definitely high up on my top ten hot guys that should soooo be brought to life!

5. Wake Series [review]- This series is incredibly. I love how emotional it can make me. The whole story surrounding it is supernatural, yet the emotions and the characters are still so real that it is still a story that makes the biggest impact. Not only the topics and the characters in this series, but the romance. It is all so intense. It is really hard to describe, I just think everybody needs to read this series!

4. The Darkest Powers [review]- One of my favorite series ever. I liked the mix of all the different kinds of paranormal characters. My favorite character was Derek, he seemed like he was a really mean guy at first, but then he eventually turned into my favorite character! I can't wait to read The Gathering.

3. Twilight- Need I say more? Of course! I love The Twilight Series. This series actually marks a milestone in my "reading journey" since it was the first time I actually finished a book in one day! Love, love, love it! BTW my favorite Twilight character of all time is without a doubt Alice. I wish their was a whole separate story on Alice's and Jasper's lives.

2. The Pace [review]- My favorite book of 2009! Just a terrifically written and engrossing read! I love pretty much everything about it except...the killer CLIFFHANGER. It was the most intense cliffhanger I have ever seen in a book. Wes is another one of my favorite male characters in books. He's not perfect and he knows it, and that's just part of his charm. And Sophie is one of my favorite female characters just because she knows what she wants, and she goes for it, without backing down.

1. Vampire Academy [review]- Favorite series ever! I love everything about these books. The drama the romance, and then more drama and more romance. Rose and her kick-ass confident ways. Dimitri with his tall, hot, older guy sexiness. All the action, the scheming, the love triangles. When Richelle Mead adds anything to the series, she makes sure it is packed with as much tension and drama, and all the good stuff it can have. All time favorite always and forever!

I am going to cheat and show anyways what was so close to making the list:
I am the Messenger [review]
Jekel Loves Hyde [review]
Perfect Chemistry Series [review]
Intertwined
Mediator Series

As a closing statement: I DARE YOU! to try and narrow your favorite books, of all time or just of this month down to 10! Leave a comment telling your TOP 10, or top 9, or top 8...!!!

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Waiting on Wednesday #17- Crave

Waiting On Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Crave

Release Date: September 21st 2010

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

Paranormal/Supernatural 

Shay has had a rare blood disorder since she was born. In fact, her mother married one of Shay’s doctors, Martin, who left his world-renowned leukemia research to try and figure out exactly what the disorder is and how to cure it. When she turns seventeen, Martin begins to give her new blood transfusions that make her feel the strongest she has ever felt. But she also has odd visions where she sees through the eyes of a vampire. At first, she thinks she must be imagining the visions, but when she begins to see Martin’s office in them, she knows she has to check it out. That’s when she finds Gabriel, a sexy, teenaged vampire, imprisoned in Martin’s office. The connection she has built with Gabriel compels her to set him free. But when he kidnaps her in an attempt at revenge on Martin, their lives become deeply intertwined. She doesn’t know the half of it. - from Goodreads

Wow! Let's just start with that cover. First, the hot, hot, hot guy on the cover is enough to make me pick up the book without even reading the back cover. Then throw in a tattoo and purple eyes to the mix, as well as the sunsetting background and you have yourself a beauty. I think this is one of my favorite covers I have seen for books coming out this year. And then speaking by the synopsis, amazing! This book sounds like it has the plot line of an adult paranormal book. It seems like less of the typical teenage vampire theme, as in more of the evil, scientific, all powerful olden day vampire books. Sort of taking me back to the Anne Rice and Dracula story lines that remain all time favorites! I am definitely looking forward to this one! 

What are you waiting for this Wednesday? 

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Review: Don't Die Dragonfly by. Linda Joy Singleton

Title: Don't Die Dragonfly
Author: Linda Joy Singleton
Age Range: 11+
Publication Date: May 5, 2009, Point
Pages: 288
Genre: Paranormal, Romance
Rating: 8/10 

Synopsis from Goodreads: After getting kicked out of school and sent to live with her grandmother, Sabine Rose is determined to become a "normal" teenage girl. She hides her psychic powers from everyone, even from her grandmother Nona, who also has "the gift." Having a job at the school newspaper and friends like Penny Love, a popular cheerleader, have helped Sabine fit in at her new school. She has even managed to catch the eye of the adorable Josh DeMarco. Yet, Sabine can't seem to get the bossy voice of Opal, her spirit guide, out of her head... or the disturbing images of a girl with a dragonfly tattoo. Suspected of a crime she didn't commit, Sabine must find the strength to defend herself and, later, save a friend from certain danger.

Review: Extremely pleasant surprise. Three words that perfectly describe what reading this book was like for me. I hate to sound shallow when it comes to the books I read, but I was hesitant to read this book just because of the lack of reviews and "buzz" for it. I hope I never, never make that mistake again. Don't Die Dragonfly, the first book in Linda Joy Singleton's Seers series was a great first installment that introduced great characters, and created a romance and paranormal filled story which I am eager to read more about it in the next book!

Sabine's life is in a really sucky state right now. She was kicked out of her old school and feels like she is the blame for the death of a student at her last school. But after moving in with a relative, she is now determined to put her past, as well as her psychic abilities behind her. Until she has no choice but to use them again. Sabine was an okay character in my opinion. I know she has a hard past, but she seemed to eager to just forget about the whole thing instead of learn from it which would have helped her a lot more. I have to say that my favorite character was Dominic. Even though he was more of a supporting character and wasn't the male love interest, he was still a great character to have. And his background made him a far more interesting character to me. I'd like to see his character get more page time in the other books!

I would describe this books as a great combination between a mystery and paranormal. There was romance, but I wasn't particularly interested in the male love interest so it didn't play such a large role to me. But besides that I loved everything about the plot. The mystery is intensified my Sabine's psychic abilities which add extra clues and suspense to the mystery parts of the book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. As I said it was a pleasant surprise. I can't wait to get started on the rest of the series!

Recommendations: I think this is a great book for those who love paranormal and mystery books but still want a light read.


Overall: 8/10 

Characters: 8/10 
Plot: 9/10
Originality: 7/10 
Entertainment: 8/10 
Ending: 8/10 
Writing Style: 8/10 
Cover: 10/10

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Monday's Question of The Day!!!

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start doing Monday's Questions of the Day. This meme was started by Eleni over at /- LA FEMME READERS -/. I always enjoyed answering and reading the responses to the questions she comes up with, so I decided to start some of my own!

For my first Monday's Questions of The Day I am going to keep it simple.
What is your favorite and least favorite genre to read?

This is a very easy question for me to answer. My favorite genre to read is definitely paranormal. I love everything about it. I like the way one paranormal creature can be perceived so differently depending on the author. There are no two vampire, werewolf, faerie books or characters that I have read that I can say are the same. It is such a broad genre where pretty much anything goes, and I love that. It's just exciting to read all the ideas authors have when writing in the paranormal.

And as far as my least favorite genre, it would have to be without a doubt historical fiction. I seriously can't stand it at all. About 6 months ago I decided to try to rehabilitate myself from my passionate dislike of historical books by going out and buying 2 of them that seemed interesting enough. And low and behold my disappointment when it turned out to be everything I thought it would be (which is not a good thing). I just don't like reading them in any shape, manner, or form. But its not like I haven't read any or just don't like historical for no reason, I have read a lot. I would like to say over 20. But out of ALL the historical fiction I have ever read, I have only enjoyed one and that is the book Josephine and the Soldier. It was adorable. So yeah, love the paranormal, dislike the historical. 

(sorry for such a long response. I have the tendency to babble!)

I'd like to hear what all of your favorites and least favorites genres to read are. So don't hesitate to leave a comment!  

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Posted in: Mondays Question of the Day

Just Want To Let You Know...

That I'm not going to be in for the next few days until this Monday. I'm going to visit some colleges so I won't really have time to check up and respond to comments and all that good stuff. But I have taken the comments off moderation so go ahead and comment even though I suppose I am going to get a bunch of spam comments coming up over and over again, please ignore them. Yep, so that's it. See you guys in a week!!!

Edit:  Oh yeah, forgot to say that I do have posts sceduled for everyday this week still. I was slaving all weekend. JK so I do have 7 posts set up for the time I'm away!

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In My Mailbox #13

In My Mailbox is a bookish meme hosted by Kristi The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

Woah, its been a while. I haven't done an IMM post since April. I will try my best to get back into the swing of things! This week I got two really good books that I have been looking forward to reading for a while.

For Review: 

Other by. Karen Kincy

Passing Strange (Generation Dead, #3, UK Edition) by. Daniel Waters  

I have been wanting to read Other since I first heard about it and the whole Pooka world. I'm still not sure exactly what a Pooka is, but I think it is something like werewolves. Either way I think I am going to love this book, and I am determined to unravel the secret of the Pooka. Pooka, pooka, pooka, what a fun word to say!

  I'm pretty eager to finally dive into the Generation Dead Series since it has been sitting on my shelf for so long now. And now that I have the whole series. I can't wait to really see what is this appeal that zombies seem to have that have everyone going crazy over them!

Don't forget to tell me what you guys all got in your mailboxes! 

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Waiting on Wednesday #16- XVI

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

XVI

Release Date: January 6th 2011

Publisher: Puffin/Speak

Futuristic Fiction 

In the year 2150, being a girl isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when your sixteenth (read sex-teenth) birthday is fast approaching. That in itself would be enough to make anyone more than a little nuts, what with the tattoo and all – but Nina Oberon’s life has taken a definite turn for the worse. Her mother is brutally stabbed and left for dead. Before dying, she entrusts a secret book to Nina, telling her to deliver it to Nina's father. But, first Nina has to find him; since for fifteen years he's been officially dead. Complications arise when she rescues Sal, a mysterious, and ultra hot guy. He seems to like Nina, but also seems to know more about her father than he’s letting on. Then there’s that murderous ex-government agent who’s stalking her, and just happens to be her little sister’s dad. - from Goodreads

From the cover, I thought this book was going to be about cutting, but its not at all. Its sounds really intriguing and original. I haven't read much futuristic fiction before, but this one sounds like a great one. Is anyone getting tired of the whole "mysterious hot guy" concept...I know I'm not!!!

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Posted in: Futuristic Fiction,romance,Waiting On Wednesday

Review: Being Nikki by. Meg Cabot

Title: Being Nikki (Airhead, #2)
Author: Meg Cabot
Age Range: 13+
Publication Date: May 5, 2009, Point
Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary, Science Fiction
Rating: 8.5/10 

 Synopsis from Goodreads: Things aren't pretty for Emerson Watts.Em was sure there couldn't be anything worse than being a brainiac the body of a teenage supermodel.But it turned out she was wrong. Because that supermodel could turn out to have a mother who's gone mysteriously missing, a brother who's shown up on her doorstep demanding answers, a former best friend who's intent on destroying Stark Enterprises to avenge the death of his lost love, and a British heartthrob who's written a song about her that's topping the charts. How can Em balance all that with school, runway shows, and weekend jaunts to St. Johns — especially when she's got ex-boyfriends crawling out of the woodwork who want more than just a photo op; a sister who is headed to the high school cheerleading championships; a company she represents that seems to be turning to the dark side... Not to mention trying to convince the love of her life that models aren't really airheads after all...especially one model in particular. But then, nobody said it was going to be easy being Nikki.

Review: I was really intrigued with the first book in Meg Cabot's Airhead series. I can honestly say my expectations of this series (since I was expecting a chick lit novel) were eliminated after reading the first book, and completely demolished after reading Being Nikki. This book brings out more of the science fiction and harsh side of the novels and this new life Emma Watts or the "new" Nikki Howard is forced to deal with, while still trying to hold on to a shred of her "past life".

I think this book surpassed the first in whole new ways. And for me that is exactly what I look forward to when reading the second book in a series. What I loved about this book was Emma's growth. I hate to say it but becoming a model, or puppet if you prefer, finally gave Emma the backbone she needed if she was going to push forward despite her new life holding her back. I loved the new role Christopher played  in this book which I was really excited about.  And thank gosh he wasn't so totally annoyingly oblivious in this book as he was in the first book. 

I was content with the book being about the struggles of being transported into a supermodel's body, trying to uncover the truth about Stark Enterprises, and figuring a way for your former best friend to believe that she is still his best friend whom he is in love with. That whole plot was enough to leave me on the edge of anticipation throughout the book. But at the end of the book, throw all of those in and a huge twist that even I didn't see coming (despite the numerous foreshadowing), and you have a series that just keeps on giving more. 

I love this series. I think Meg Cabot never disappoints no matter what genre she decides to venture into for each of her books. I can't wait to read Runaway since I suspect it to be just as good as the rest of her books!

Recommendations:  Those who read the first book, whether you liked it or not, should read this since I think it step up over the first in a big way. All fan of Meg Cabot's other books should also give this series a try!

Overall: 8.5/10 

Characters: 8/10 
Plot: 10/10
Originality: 10/10 
Entertainment: 8/10 
Ending: 10/10 
Writing Style: 10/10 
Cover: 9/10

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