Friday, October 18, 2013

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent cover

Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series:Divergent #2

Summary

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Review

If you thought Divergent was a good book, you are going to think that Insurgent is a great book. As someone who loved the first book, I went into this one with high hopes. It's hard enough to write a good book, it's even harder to keep the story going well when another book is added to a series. A lot of authors drop the ball on the second or third, etc books in popular books. Veronica Roth, though, was able to elevate the series in the second book. I was very pleased with this book.

Tris is back and more dauntless than ever. The world as she knew it before she was sixteen is gone. The factions are no longer co-existing and working alongside each other peacefully. She thought her initiation day was going to be a giant celebration, but that was not the case. She is suddenly thrown into a new situation that she knows nothing about. Life or death situations, war, conflict, grief, pain, and emotional trauma - things that her upbringing as a Abnegation could never have prepared her for.

Tris is such a dynamic character. While she is somewhat predictable in some of her decisions, she is interesting, smart, and she does whatever she thinks needs to be done in order to save her friends and family from danger. I think she is compelling in every sense of the word. She is character that could fight her way to the edge of the earth and back if it meant that her loved ones were safe.

Veronica Roth did it again with this novel. Unlike the first novel in this series, the big reveal of the novel completely caught me off guard. Most of the big things in the first book were easily discovered, but Insurgent took my feet out from under me and made me nearly gasp aloud. It takes a lot to make that happen.

I loved this book. It is definitely a great read, and I would suggest it to anyone.

Rating

5 stars

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Feature & Follow Friday: October 18, 2013

Alison Can Read Feature & Follow
Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

This Week's Question: What are some of your favorite magazines?

My favorite magazine is definitely People Magazine. I'm constantly on their website reading about what is going on in celebrities lives and the world (to some degree). I just find it so interesting, and I'm a little addicted to it. I'm on there at least once a day checking things out.


Today's Features

My Little World

Defiantly Deviant




I prefer:

Follow on Bloglovin

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Cover Reveal: Halfway Hidden by Carrie Elks

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I'm helping Carrie Elks reveal the cover of her first novella, Halfway Hidden.

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Halfway Hidden

Author: Carrie Elks

Publication Date: November 2013

Genres: Erotica, Romance

Synopsis

When fear mixes with desire, who can you trust?

Rachel Stone is stuck, contemplating that very question. Spending her time as a bartender in an isolated West Virginia town, she hides behind dark hair and an assumed name. She exists from day to day, trying not to let her past overwhelm her.

When a tall stranger walks into the bar at closing time, her attempts at hiding turn to dust. Muscled and intense, he is attractive enough for Rachel to ignore her instincts and listen to her baser desires. As a storm brews in the skies of West Virginia, confusion builds in Rachel’s mind. What begins as flirtation explodes into a darker, more primal passion, leading her to question everything she thought she knew.

While snow blankets the outside world, they are forced to remain inside, confronting their demons and the sizzling attraction between them. Submitting to their urges is easy; learning who to trust is anything but.

Advisory: This novella contains references to past abuse, and rough consensual sex.

About the Author

Carrie Elks

Carrie Elks lives near London, England and loves to write sexy stories with a dash of intrigue. At the age of twenty-one she left college with a political science degree, a healthy overdraft and a soon-to-be husband. She loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland as well as the UK.

Nowadays, she spends her days sorting out people’s problems at work and her evenings glued to a computer keyboard. An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and twitter time to stolen moments between writing chapters.

Her favorite authors include L.H. Cosway, Samantha Young, Cara McKenna and C.J. Roberts.

When she isn’t reading or writing, she can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the two.

Author Links

Xpresso Book Tours

Thursday Quotable #2

Thursday Quotables

Thursday Quotables is a weekly meme featured on Bookshelf Fantasies. It's "the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written."

Divergent cover

This Week’s Thursday Quotable

“Can you be a girl for a few seconds?"

"I'm always a girl" I frown.

"You know what I mean. Like a silly, annoying girl"

I twirl my hair around my finger. "Kay.”

― Veronica Roth, "Divergent"

That’s what HE said Thursday - October 17, 2013


Every Thursday, Chapter Break is hosting a brand new meme called:That’s what HE said Thursday. For more info on what this meme is all about click here.

words

“You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged; but one word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.”

Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet; Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice


To me, Mr. Darcy is just the greatest of all leading love interests in literature. I love everything about the way he met Elizabeth, their love-hate-love-loath-hate-love relationship. They were both so stubborn, but they came together in the end and that is what it's all about.


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent cover

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

Series:Divergent #1

Summary

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, Tris also learns that her secret might help her save the ones she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Review

This was another series that I had never heard of until I saw the preview for the movie. When I asked my older sister to borrow the Mortal Instruments series, I also asked to read the Divergent series since I knew she had them and I figured that I would want to watch the movie when it finally comes out. I didn't know anything about it, not even the main characters name. I went into it knowing nothing.

My first thought when I started reading the book was: This is going to be like The Hunger Games. I hadn't read The Hunger Games because I couldn't get into the first person present telling, but I had watched the movie. The post-apocalyptic world with a new order-type story. But I decided to give it a chance because I had a feeling that I was going to enjoy it.

And I did. I like the idea that the world was broken up into factions that honored the virtue that they think is best. It shows a great, chasm-like divide between these groups of people. The world is definitely different place in this book, and I think that is part of what made it so believable.It follows Beatrice Prior, a sixteen year girl who is days away from having to decide whether she wants to stay in her faction or choose another and leave her family behind forever.

The only thing I really had a problem with was a few elements were predictable. There was a slightly big reveal over halfway through the book, but I already saw it coming. Instead of being astounded that I missed it, it just confirmed what I was thinking already. The biggest plot reveal was the same way. There were just so many hints to what was coming that there was no real mystery in what was coming for the characters and the story.

My favorite decision in the story is Beatrice changing her name to "Tris." I think is signified a major change in her during the course of the story. It was such a subtle thing, but it was a powerful decision. Names are important.

I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who was looking for a good read. I look forward to reading the next one.

Rating

5 stars

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WWW Wednesdays (Oct. 16)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?




• What are you currently reading?

I'm reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth. My big sister gave me this book to read. So far, I think it's a good series. I don't think this book will let me down.


• What did you recently finish reading?

I literally just finished reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. It was such a good book. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.


• What do you think you’ll read next?

I will probably read Matched by Ally Condie next. Another series my big sister let me read. After that, I'll read the second book in the series.


Waiting On Wednesday: How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying)

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How to Seduce a Vampire (Without Really Trying)

Author: Kerrelyn Sparks

Series: Love at Stake #15

Expected Release Date:April 29, 2014

Summary

From New York Times bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks comes the next adventure in the Love at Stake series, featuring a Master vampire and his love affair with a woman of many secrets . . .

Vampire Zoltan Czakvar is on the hunt for the truth about his father's death. He's been searching for a very long time—since 1241, in fact. And he is not about to give up, even when he's attacked by a woman with striking blue eyes and a hell of a right hook!

Neona is also on the hunt. She's looking for a mate and she thinks muscled Zoltan will work just fine. After all, men are good for only one thing. Soon, though, she realizes there's more to this handsome vampire than just sexual prowess. But she's keeping a secret from Zoltan, something so big that it will rock the vampire world.

Can their newfound love survive . . . even if their passion means the destruction of her world?

Reason for Waiting

I have been with this series since book one, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. I found this series purely by accident when I was a teenager who wanted to read Paranormal Romance. My mom bought me the first one online, and I fell in love. This is my all time favorite series. Kerrelyn Sparks is able to keep the magic going despite being fifteen books in. I love every character,everyone's story, and getting to know characters I barely know even better. One of my favorite things are the titles. The recently released book fourteen in this series was titled, The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo. She's just cheeky like that.


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Teaser Tuesday (Oct. 15)



Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read.

• Open to a random page.

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



My Teaser:

It's Peter.
Cold slips over my skin and around my heart and into the pit of my stomach.

Page 462, Divergent by Veronica Roth


Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish in which they post a Top Ten list of bookish things and invite you to share your own top ten.

Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" to Read


My husband "forced" me to read this book after having made me watch the movie during the our close friendship before relationship started. He owns all of them and thought I would like to read them too.

I was "forced" to read it twice. Once my senior year of high school and once my sophomore year of college. I love everything about it!

This was another book I was supposed to read in school. As a lover of all Greek Mythology, I enjoyed everything about it. Odysseus's journey was such an interesting read. The fact that it was all written in poem form made it even better for me.

Eight grade English brought me this book. And I have loved it ever since. I loved Ponyboy and Soda Pop and I thought being a greaser was just the coolest thing back then.

There wasn't much I enjoyed about Junior English in high school, but this was one of the things I did love about it. The Salem Witch Trials are very interesting to me. I always sympathized with the "witches."



Freshman year of high school; This was the first book I encountered in my life that I couldn't get into. Nothing about it was fun for me to read. I just faked it (having watched the movie) and used Sparknotes to get the rest of the way through it.

Junior English; I couldn't get through it. I don't know if it was the language or the material, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Freshman English (again); While my class was reading The Great Gatsby, me and five other people in my class had our parents write notes to get us out of it due to the "bad language." I did it because my big sister, who is an avid reader, had a hard time getting through it. So I thought I would to. This was the book I had to read instead. I only read one chapter and relied heavily on the fact that I had watched Muppet Treasure Island.

Junior year of college; After getting out of reading it my freshman year of high school, I thought I had gotten around reading it. Junior year of college and an American Lit class stopped me in my tracks and made me read it. It was okay. I didn't really enjoy much about it. I don't know why. Everyone else seemed to love it, except for me.

Junior year of college again; I just couldn't get into this one either.