Caught my arrow #41

Caught my Arrow is a meme similar to Stalking the Shelves featuring books that were purchased, borrowed or received that week.

Lots of YA on my reading list this week which I will most likely devour. And just in case I need something to keep me up at night, I borrowed a Zombie classic?!?

Received from Publisher

Une photo publiée par natalia (@natyuniverse) le 6 Janv. 2015 à 13h31 PST

Love Lucy by April Lindner

Purchased

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Borrowed from library

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

What are you reading this week?

Feature and Follow Friday: Off my Radar

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back

Q: Do you post your reviews anywhere besides your blog?

Like many of you, my reviews are not kept hidden on the blog. Feel free to friend me on Goodreads, whether you have a blog or not. I love checking out what other readers thought about the books I've read. It feels awesome when you find someone who either liked or disliked the same book as you.

I also post my reviews on Amazon.ca


Where do you post your reviews?

Review: Reached

It all comes tumbling down...

With finales, unfortunately accompanied by great character loses and love triangle disasters, Reached  felt suspenseful from page one. It takes a long time to overthrow a society. As Cassia, Xander and Ky learned in the sequel Crossed, there is a pilot a.k.a leader who began the Rising before they were even born. An immunity was given to some citizens at birth to prevent them from a paralyzing virus in the future. The time has come to take over the society once and for all by bribing them with the cure. But what no one expected was that viruses tend to mutate. What happens when there's no longer a cure?

Control is a theme seen throughout the book as our main characters are left at their work posts waiting for the pilot to decide what action comes next. Not all are immune, and therefore a race against the clock begins and the possibility of death puts many things (like love) into perspective. Sometimes we must take matters into our own hands.

Since Cassia's love preference always seemed clear from the start, Condie's decision to add the virus into the mix gave the book the suspense it needed for a gran finale.

Review: All Fall Down

Grace's mom was murdered and nobody believes her.

Adding to the tragedy, she must now move back to Embassy Row, where she shared so many memories with her mom. She's seen as a rebel and mentally unstable. But Grace has no time to worry about fitting in, because the killer's still on the loose, and seems to have his eyes on her. Will someone believe her before she becomes the next target?

Ally Carter filled her story with a great supporting cast. We've got the charming and protective Russian, the hacker, the spy and the wingman -- all from different countries bringing their own spice to the story. The background is an amazing plus, allowing for lavish parties and powerful antagonists.But what makes All Fall Down particular is Grace's mental instability. Is there actually a killer or does Grace just need someone to blame?

Piece after piece, the puzzle revealed at the end is anything but what was expected.

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest

Once up a time, there was a horned boy sleeping in a glass coffin. He was beautiful. And two siblings fell in love with him... 

Fairfolk's not a town like any other. The Fae have their own hidden community and expect the humans to keep out while they roam about kidnapping children. But now that the horned boy is free, the Fae vow to cause greater havoc until he is returned.

Siblings Fae hunters, Hazel and Ben, have their own plans on how to put an end to this mess. But deep down both of them carry secrets that could hinder their quest. Together with the help of part/fae- part/human Jack, they embark on a mission to end the Fae's control over the town once and for all.

Although Holly Black put in a huge effort to include romance into the story, none of the characters really felt worthy of such love. They were selfish, particularly Hazel, who's major sacrifice served mostly for her benefit than anyone else. For this reason I was glad that romance took second place in the story, which focused the attention on sword fights and understating the complete world of the Fae. Too bad the ending felt rushed.

Review: Hit

The Crush and the Crash

Sarah's in love with her poetry teacher, Mr. Haddings, in ways that would be considered unethical. Still, she decides to pour her heart out and writes him a letter. Unfortunately, on her way to deliver said letter, Haddings, who inadvertently looked at his cellphone, runs her over with his car. The story takes us through the following two days post accident. And how both  Sarah and Haddings, must come to terms with what happened. 

Hit seems like the kind of story that would have benefit immensely from having more than two point-of-views. Sarah's parents were uncomfortable being around each other, her brother was too preoccupied with looks while her best friend found solace being near him. But Mr. Haddings wasn't allowed to approach the family and Sarah was... injured. So the untold stories lingered int he air. If only the flashbacks would have gone deeper than poetry and claim that five star rating.

Grover based Hit on a true story, and encourages us to follow The Red Thumb Reminder and paint our nail red as a warning not to text and drive. Let's make a difference.

Feature and Follow Friday: Casse-Noisette

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back

Q: Do you have any fun collections (other than books) ?


Nutcrakers!! I don't know what that says about my relationship with men or nuts (I only eat almonds). But they look so adorable.

It also explains why I wasn't scared of Jigsaw from the Saw movies. I mean look at him, he is a nutcraker.

What do you collect?

Review: The Chosen One

Life is full of choices we don't get to make...

Kyra belongs to the Chosen Ones, a sect religion that places the prophet's needs above the rest of the community. Together with her siblings, mothers and father, Kyra lives within the community hidden in the forest. She even has a crush named Joshua who is hinting at marriage. But then the prophet has a vision that she is meant to be married right away-- not to Joshua - but to her sixty-year-old uncle Hyrum. Can Kyra defy her religion even if it means placing everyone she loves at risk?

Lynch Williams made this book impossible to put down. Once the marriage announcement to uncle Hyrum is set, the deadline seems imminent and the pages just kept turning themselves. The topic of obedience vs punishment gets quite tense as Kyra's situation forces other members of the community to ponder on their beliefs.

Lots of action, stolen kisses and thought provoking plotlines.

Review: If you could be mine

There is nothing more hurtful than loving someone who can't love you back. 

In Sahar's case, it's more complicated than that. Nasrin and her have been lovers since their lifelong friendship turned into something more. But life in Tehran impedes them from expressing their love publicly. Now that Nasrin is about to be married, Sahar grows frenzied, and the only solution she can find to saving their love is a sex reassignment surgery.

Farizan turned a forbidden love story into a debate about how far we are willing to compromise our values for love. Sahar is against adultery, but a sex change is considerable? She meets Parvern, a transgender boy who went through the surgery and together they discuss several LGBT themes.

A short contemporary story that makes you realize how pointless a relationship looks when only one person is willing to sacrifice to sustain it.

Caught my arrow #40

Caught my Arrow is a meme similar to Stalking the Shelves featuring books that were purchased, borrowed or received that week.

I am overbooked this week -- can you tell.  But no worries, I still have a few more vacation days left to read away.

Received from Publisher

Une photo publiée par natalia (@natyuniverse) le Déc. 12, 2014 at 9:46 PST

The Darkest part of the Forest by Holly Black

Received from Netgalley

Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen 

Kiss and Tell by Jacqueline Green

Borrowed from library

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer Michelle Hodkin

What are you reading this week?

Feature and Follow Friday: Mad About You

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back

Q: What was your favorite book of 2014 -- or books if you can't name just one?

Last year went by so fast. As always there were several new releases but the ones who stuck the most with me have to be:

 Ashes to Ashes 

The conclusion to the Burn for Burn series took me by surprise. I kept reminding myself that this was a collaboration, and so, for the authors to dig so far into the taboo subject of suicide that way and agree, translates as a good artistic connection.

Better off Friends

Nothing compares to the romance of first love. Short, sweet and heartbreaking as well.

 Hollow City

Miss Peregrine's home for Peculiar Children was so bizarre, I didn't expect the sequel to be able to keep up. Not only did it keep up, but managed to surprise me.

The Walled City

YA or NA? Not sure if the topic of sex slaves fits in the YA genre as introduced into the market, but nevertheless, the book had interesting characters with an all action plot.

We Were Liars

I fully understand why it won best YA fiction on Goodreads this year. At first sight, the fragmented sentences and short chapters got on my nerves. I thought the author had trouble with her printer or something. But after the revealing ending -- it all made sense.








Which book topped your 2014 list?