Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

February 28th 2012, HarperCollins
375 pages, ARC
Received from Publisher
Second in Delirium series
Young Adult Fiction

Others in Series: Delirium

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.
Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

Opinion:

This is an impossible book for me to review. I should’ve liked it and at times I did, but generally it was more like pulling teeth to get through than enjoyment. I think my issues with Pandemonium are the same I have with Lost. We have this storyline that jumps back and forth asking a ton of questions within the viewer/reader and then not resolving them. And, oi, the ending. What was that? That made no sense and seemed to have no point within this storyline.  So you are going to throw in something that has like no validity and makes you question everything just to get us to read the next one? Seriously? Why?

And really are you going to cheapen this with that? I mean seriously. Seriously, seriously!

Take out the ending and the switching from present to past and I would have been able to enjoy this book so much more!

I enjoyed exchanges between Lena and Julian. The connection there makes Lena become stronger and more independent, which was seriously lacking in “Then” sequences. The action was tense throughout so it should’ve been a quick read. It had tons of poignant scenes and was very emotional.

There is this quote within that kinda sums up the way I feel about this book, “Some of them are ballons bobbing up through the sky: totally self-contained, and unreachable, but beautiful to watch.” It’s unreachable, when you finally feel comfortable in the world Oliver has developed she throws you this really odd way and it’s like what do we believe?

It pains me that I did not enjoy this book more. I really wanted to, but I simply didn’t. There are plenty of people that loved it, but I was not one of them.

Rating:

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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1,000 Followers Giveaway Bash

<center><a href="http://www.missiontoread.com/2012/01/1000-followers-giveaway-bash.html"><img border="0" src="http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x351/Rie_Conley/followergiveaway.png" width="98%/" /></a></center>

OMG! Mission to Read has finally hit 1,000 followers! (Okay, so I got impatient!) I’m so grateful for all of your guys comments, tweets, and so much other bloggy love that I wanted to have a giveaway to celebrate 1,000 followers. I’m trying to have a bit of everything for everyone so there are 3 prize packs up that you can choose from. For every 25 followers from the 1,000 mark before Valentine’s Day one more prize pack will be won. First winner will get first pick and so on.

So what is up for grabs?

Group A: Darker Paranormal

Group B: Contemporary

Group C: Seconds and Favorites

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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Incarnate Treasure Hunt!

Welcome to the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt!

This week, 48 bloggers are celebrating the release of INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows by participating in a treasure hunt with clues, activities, and lots of prizes including signed books and handknit fingerless mitts. You've reached an ACTIVITY blog, which means on this page, you can gain extra entries for Jodi's grand prize drawing by completing my activity and filling out the accompanying form. Then head to the next activity for more INCARNATE fun! There are 22 INCARNATE activities around. The more you do, the better your chances of winning the grand prize. For more information on the INCARNATE Theater Treasure Hunt, check out Jodi's post.

Whoo! Who's excited for the Incarnate release on the 31st? I know I am! Even her adorable cat is excited!

 Jodi has let us here at Mission to Read to participate in her treasure hunt. Here's what you do. From these pictures below, all you gotta do is match them to the names listed. Fill out the forms. The extra entries are, of course, optional. And you're entered to win one of her spectacular prizes mentioned above. (She is an excellent knitter.) You can check those out on her website linked above, where you can also find information about clue activities. They are also participating in the hunt. After you fill out the form, please check out the other blogs below. They've also got activities that will give you more points for her grand prize and smaller prizes. Good luck!

Sarah Nicholas
Steph at The Night Bookmobile
Lauren at 365 Days of Reading
Gabi at Mato’s Blog
Amy at Book Loving Mom
Best Tan at B’s Book Blog










Fictitious Musings
A Backwards Story
Watercolor Moods

The elusive Linda-saurus:

Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.

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Glissandra Thicket and Swag Giveaway

Life can't get much better for Sam Lock. Popular, good-looking, and with a future as a professional football player. every guy at Stanton High School wishes he were Sam. That is, until his championship football game, when Sam accidentally links with an ancient source of energy known as the Veil and reveals his potential to become a powerful sorcerer.Sam is whisked off to Atlas Crown, a community of sorcerers who utilize the Veil as a part of everyday life. Once there, he trains beside a mute boy who speaks through music, an eternal sage who's the eyes and ears of the Veil, and a beautiful girl who's pretty sure Sam's an idiot.As it becomes clear Sam's meant for power magic-the most feared and misunderstood form of sorcery-people beyond Atlas Crown learn of his dangerous potential. An exiled group of power sorcerers are eager to recruit Sam, believing that he is destined to help them achieve their long-held goal. If they succeed, they could bring about the downfall of not only Atlas Crown. but all humankind.

Glissandro is a tall, lanky, curly-haired sorcerer on the brink of adulthood. He was born without the ability to talk, but he somehow (to the astonishment of the sorcerer community) found a way to speak through playing music on his horn.



Glissandro is truly talented, has a kind heart, plenty of wisdom, but he’s shy and lacks the self-esteem to shine as bright as he could.



Here’s Glissandro telling the story of how he came to have his horn:


“When I was younger, I was different from everybody else. Everyone else could speak, but I couldn’t. No one picked on me, but that made it worse, because that meant I had no one to direct my disappointment at—nobody but myself. I hated being different. It was easy enough to get my message across: I drew words in the air with my second-skin*. They came out sparkling gold, but I was still not the same. It wasn’t even the talking that bothered me; it was the singing. I heard others use their voices to create beautiful music, and I couldn’t. I tried to sing, but I ended up choking. I spent a lot of time in the woods and in the library by myself, thinking. One day I went deep into the library, deeper than I’d ever been, and found an old, moldy book in the wall. There was nothing special about it, and I don’t know why, but I knew I had to read it. Most of it was in a language that was spoken before my time, but some of it I could understand. That book taught me some dangerous things, one of them being how to do a dark drape**. I knew it was against the rules to change yourself with the Veil, but I wanted to sing, more so than I wanted to follow the rules.

"I went into the woods and reached far into the Veil, farther than I had ever gone before, and attempted to drape myself. I vomited because the pain in my head was unbearable. When I opened my eyes, there was a terrible creature before me. A skull-wolf, something I'd only read about and seen pictures of, but recognized immediately. It sank its teeth through my second-skin and deep into my hand. It was excruciating. It tried to drag me away, so I grabbed the horn on the bottom of its chin with my other hand and kicked it in the face to try and get away. I fell back, along with its horn. The skull-wolf ran away and everything went black.”

* A second-skin is a hand covering that allows a sorcerer to “grip” the Veil. Essentially, it’s how you do magic.
** A drape is a type of grip where you wrap the Veil around an object to give it magical properties.

I’m going to stop there because I don’t want him to give too much away :) Thanks everybody for taking an interest in my work!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TGIF: Book Hoarder

TGIF is  a Friday meme hosted by Ginger at Greads. She always has the best questions.

Today’s Question:

Buy or Borrow: Where do your books that you read come from? The bookstore? The library? Do you prefer to own a book, or have it on loan?

Answer:

I am so not a hoarder of anything including books. The books I keep are only those that I will read a million times, so it is MUCH cheaper for me to borrow books from the library or a friend than buy a copy for myself and then just send it on to my sister or take it to Half Priced Bookstore. It actually bugs me to have books sitting on my bookshelf that I don’t plan to read again, so I’m planning on having a series of ARC giveaways during the next year.

I only have about 20 books that I will love and keep at all times. I’ve had to buy several copies of quite a few of these as the cover has come off, I’ve moved and lost it, or some other misfortune.

Some Books I keep on hand:

Castles by Julie Garwood
The Secret by Julie Garwood
Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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Blogger Helper: Tweet from Your Blog with TweetBox

See that nifty little twitter box (over on top of the left sidebar)? Try it out! Now look at the bottom of the tweet see how it says via Mission to Read? Yeah, it actually links back to the blog. How awesome would it be for every single tweet that you send include a link back to your blog in a non-pushy way? Yep all of that happens with all of this incredibly simple tutorial.

All of this is directly from twitter so it is secure and easy.

As always if there is anything that you do not understand tweet me or email me and I’ll do all I can to help.

Set up the link:


Go to twitter dev and input some information.

It’s really that easy. Fill out the captcha and click enter and you are done!

Now go to the next tab and click Settings:

Input any image you’d like to represent the app. I would use something that you use to represent your blog in general.

Now this is important! Scroll down from inputing your image and click Read and Write. Just for clarification this too is in the Settings tab.

Go back to the first tab “Details” and note your Consumer Key. You will need this key for the next step.

Code the Tweetbox:


Now comes some incredibly easy coding:

<script src="http://platform.twitter.com/anywhere.js?id=YOUR_API_KEY" type="text/javascript"></script>

Where it says Your_API_Key input the Consumer Key.

This entire code goes directly under <title> in your html code for your page.

It’ll look something like this:

    <title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title>

<script src='http://platform.twitter.com/anywhere.js?id=API_KEY' type='text/javascript'/>

The title code is already there and then you just input your code with your Consumer Key underneath.

Put a Tweetbox in your Sidebar:

Where you want the box to show up in your sidebar input this code:

<div id="tbox"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">

  twttr.anywhere(function (T) {

    T("#tbox").tweetBox({
      height: 100,
      width: 300,
      defaultContent: "Text Inside Box"
    });

  });

</script>

See where it says Text Inside Box? That is where you put anything you want to show inside the box. I have “Tweet @missiontoread”.

I would recommend you include your twitter handle in this text so people can easily tweet you from the box.

And that’s it! You are done! You now have your own twitter app directly from your blog.

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

January 3rd 2012, Harper Collins
384 pages, Hardcover
First in the Under the Never Sky series
Young Adult Dystopian

Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

Opinion:

You’ve probably heard of Veronica Rossi’s debut dystopian novel. You’ve probably read about the hype and the excitement from the recent release. And if you’ve been to the bookstore, you’ve probably noticed her book proudly being displayed. Here’s my take on this epic novel.


Under the Never Sky is nothing like I’ve read before. It’s a thrilling read with a slow-simmering romance. I can’t even describe how much I loved it. There’s a perfect dose of creative sci-fi in this dystopian/post-apocalyptic. I don’t think it’s too early to say it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.


Aria is a Dweller who comes from the Pods where everything is regulated and organized to prevent disaster and disease. That doesn’t mean that everything is perfect though. Perry is an Outsider with survival instinct. He’s a warrior but seen as a savage to the Dwellers, including Aria. Aria’s safe world suddenly changes when she is banished from her own pod. Luckily, she manages to find Perry. They both come from different races and have lived in different worlds. But as you follow Aria and Perry’s journey, you get to see them change and grow. You see them share a little and a lot from each of their own worlds while creating a unique relationship of their own. They balance each other out.


Veronica Rossi created a beautiful world. The book cover pretty much says it all. Oh the Aether storms! The world-building is fantastic. Under the Never Sky is so detailed! I enjoyed reading them battle it out in the land of violent storms and cannibals. There’s a lot of action and fighting to compliment the sweets suspense of the romance. Rossi also introduces a few lovable secondary characters that make the story even more real as a whole.


Once I closed the book, I was conflicted on whether or not to be a little mad at the cliffhanger or just plain happy for finally getting a chance to read it. Under the Never Sky was an exhilarating read and I can’t possibly tell you how much I am dying to read the next book.

Rating:

 

The elusive Linda-saurus:

Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.

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This or That: Alec (Forbidden by Syrie and Ryan James)

Claire Brennan has spent her entire life wondering who her father is, and why her paranoid, "hippie" mom insists on moving every year or two. Who—or what—are they running from? Desperate to stay put at the high school she loves, Claire hides the fact that she's started getting psychic visions that seem to predict the future—especially when the visions take a darker turn, warning Claire that her own life is in danger.

Alec MacKenzie is new at Emerson Academy, and on the outside he seems like a shy, slightly awkward guy with a charming Scottish accent. In reality, Alec is an angelic watcher, whose exhausting duties occasionally include eliminating the wayward descendants of his forefathers. He chose Emerson Academy as the ideal hiding place where he could escape and just be normal for once. What he hadn't planned on was falling deeply in love with Claire, who is a half angel, and whose very existence is forbidden.

When it becomes plain that Claire's life is on the line and her relationship with Alec is prohibited, they are faced with a terrible choice. How much will they risk to stay together? How far will Alec go to protect her?

Winter or Summer? Summer. He’s from Scotland. Summer there only lasts for five minutes.

Early Bird or Night Owl?
Night Owl. Less witnesses.

Past or Present?
Present. He’s trying to forget the past.
Country or City? City. Easier to disappear in.

Rain or Shine? Shine. (Again: Scotland.)

Loner or life of party? Definitely loner.

Fate or Free Will? He believes in Free Will, but has only recently begun to exercise it.

Graphic tees or knit tops? Really? Guys don’t wear knit tops!

Blind or Deaf?Deaf. He couldn’t use some of his most important powers if he were blind.

Light or Dark?Both. His life is riddled with shades of grey.

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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A Reader’s Survival Package

Meme hosted by Broke and Bookish where we list top 10 (or as close as we can get) of whatever that weeks topic is!

Raise your hand if you are sick or have just been sick!  Twitter seems to be filled with people so sick that even being on the computer is hard.

When I’m sick I read A LOT. I’m nearsighted and glasses are a no because I hate anything pinching my nose when I’m sick and contacts feel like they are burning into my eyeball with my fever, so I can’t watch tv. So what do I recommend you read while sick? Something even more depressing than the sickness or something so funny that you will literally die laugh/coughing.

Then there all those other things you need while you are sick reading. So let’s get started.

*This post is completely self-indulgent.

Quilt (marymcnultydesign)

There is nothing on this earth better than being covered up by a huge heavy quilt and having all that pressure wrapped around you. It’s like being in a cocoon full of love.

Jane Eyre

This classic has been a cold ( sickness or temp)mainstay since I was in seventh grade. I usually read this book at least once during the winter. Always with a cup of hot apple cider and snuggled under a quilt.

Fingerless Gloves (butterflife)

You need something to warm up your hands as they peek out from underneath the many layers of blankets. What’s better than something that makes you think of love?

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

The first time I read this I had pneumonia  and the depression that Nikki was feeling was quite companionable. Of course, I loved the book for a ton of other reasons, but yep quite companionable.

Apple Cider

When you are forced to be up whether it be taking care of children, a husband, or a dog that insists on taking up half your lap. I recommend a cup of apple cider at your side. I quite adore Apple Cider.

Marathon of Whatever Series you Haven’t Started

I’m probably the only one that hasn’t read Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series, so I picked some of them up at the library to read this weekend.

Aromatherapeutic Cooling Eye Mask (herbolution)

After reading your eyes will be exhausted and your sinuses are probably already swollen and your head is pounding. Take this out of the freezer and take a nap. Instant relief.

Favorite Book Boyfriend

Your favorite book boyfriend (or real husband) needs to come over for a visit to be at your beck and call. To bring you whatever your heart desires. You may include a bell if your heart desires.

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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Review: Forbidden by Syrie and Ryan James

January 24th 2012, HarperTeen
411 pages, Advanced Copy
Received from Publisher
Young Adult Fiction

She should not exist.

He should not love her.

Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remained anywhere) and she’s desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there’s no way she’s going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she’s been having or the creepy warnings that she’s in danger.

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn’t factored Claire into his plans. . . .

Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire’s unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

Opinion:

I really enjoyed this book and felt it to be a quick read even though it was over 400 pages. Alec’s POV drew me in more than Claire’s which is unusual as I don’t usually enjoy reading from the male POV. I had read an adult book by Syrie James previously and found myself completely at a loss as to how this book would end because of my former knowledge that Syrie James has unusual endings.

I could instantly relate with Claire and wanted to know what was going to happen to her throughout. Claire is an interesting character that is dealing with a lot, but still maintains her relationships and is considerate of everyone at every turn. I found her to be a refreshing teen female protagonist where often they can be self consumed.

Although, I related with Claire, Alec interested me more. He was mature (as he should be at 100+) but the thing that drew me to him most his is his newness. He is new to emotions, new to food, new to anything human and this made him unique and quite interesting. Seeing the world through the eyes of someone who had observed the world for years and yet had not experienced anything.

Claire has a set of friends that are invaluable. Her friends are always willing to do whatever is needed to keep her safe and she is very dedicated to them in turn. Her mother is a part of the storyline and is loving and communicative when Claire turns to her. The secondary characters were a integral part of the story and not just fillers.

At times the plot was a bit convenient (contrived), but it laughed at itself which endeared it to me. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. This book was not in the least predictable. Right until the very last page I didn’t know how everything would turn out. It ended somewhat abruptly and I can’t seem to find out if there is a sequel which saddens me. I would really like to know what happens next.

Rating:

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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Hiatus

Due to illness I am not going to be posting anymore this week. Hopefully, I will feel better by Monday and will resume posting then.

ETA: Thanks everyone for all the well wishes!

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Top Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone Who Doesn't Read Paranormal

Meme hosted by Broke and Bookish where we list top 10 (or as close as we can get) of whatever that weeks topic is!

Adult

 Changeling Series by Dani Harper

 Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost

 Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh

Young Adult

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Shadow Falls by C.C. Hunter

Goblin Wars by Kersten Hamilton

Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

Hex Hall Series by Rachel Hawkins

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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