Review: Boring Girls

"It wasn't madness and blood lust and something for parents to worry about."

Rachel's an introvert. She keeps to herself, reading and writing on her free time. And then everything changes when a class mate bullies her. Rachel begins listening to Heavy Metal, dressing in black (nothing to do with Goths), and writing dark poetry. Meeting Fern, encourages her to form a band. Finally, Rachel is free to express her real self -- but is violence the only way to do so?

The struggle to be taken seriously in the rock/metal music genre when you are female is something people don't talk about enough. Hayley Williams from Paramore has told numerous stories of how she had to stand up to harassment, and of course, Sara Taylor wrote a crazy traumatic scene demonstrating so in this book. With time, Rachel comes to believe that by hitting people and cursing at them, is the only way to maintain her image. But after reading this book, you come to see, that Rachel always had that rage in her. 

Not boring at all. 

Caught my arrow #43

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

Looks like a mixture of fantasy and contemporary books for me. I got the best of both worlds.

Received from Publisher

Une photo publiée par natalia (@natyuniverse) le 16 Juin 2015 à 5h45 PDT

The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Borrowed from library

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Received from Author

Return to Kaitlin by Helen Yeomans

What are you reading this week?

Review: Undertow

Don't call them Mermaids.

They prefer to be called Alpha. One day they showed up ashore on Coney Island and claimed refugee status. Now the youth are allowed to integrate high school, and due to a class stunt gone wrong Lyric is designated to introduce their prince, Fathom, to human life. But what will happen if he discovers her greatest secret -- that she isn't human either?

Alpha, Sirena, or even sons of the ocean -- Buckley created a new race with special fighting abilities. Of course, he mixed the political aspect of it all, adding on to the tension. But it's the relationship between Lyric and her loved ones that keep me turning pages. Her best friend Bex deals with domestic abuse and Buckley weaves it well into the story. 

A great new series that promises lots of romance.

Review: I'll Give you the Sun

So quietly I can barely make out the words, she says, "She's my mom too. Why can't you share?"

Jude and Noah both share a passion for the arts, even more so, the need for their mother's approval. After a tragic accident that leads to her passing away, they find each other lost. Noah spends his time cliff-diving,and Jude believes her mom's spirit keeps destroying all her art until she makes something worthwhile. If only they could remove this distance between them. If only the could share the sun and communicate.

They're were lots of secrets in this novel -- some of them I couldn't see coming at all. Nelson wrote the story with two different points-of-views, both past and present (keep in mind that each chapter is about 100 pages long) which really helped understanding both sides. I do however believe that the mother's character and motives were not illuminated enough. But then again, do we really know our parents... 

A sad tale about the downside of having a sibling. 

Cover Reveal: Days of Throbbing Gristle

Does Heaven know you're miserable now?

It’s 1987. Sam Henry Hay, a 17-year-old exchange student from Sheffield, hops into Texas, USA, with one burning ambition: Manipulate his gullible host parents into funding his university, and leave his dead-end life in Yorkshire behind.
But is Sam manipulating America or America manipulating Sam? The clever lad schmoozes his way into many a bed and purse, yet can’t get rid of anyone. He executes careful plans, only to watch them disastrously fall apart. Worst of all, this once proud nihilist watches in horror as he reveals a conscience, in a world growing ever darker around him.

Influenced by Frank Zappa and Gore Vidal's writing, Kevin Cole brings us a razor-slashing teenage tale. Feel free to follow Mr. Cole via his twitter  to find out more about Days of Throbbing Gristle.

Feature and Follow Friday: Long Way Down

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

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

Q: If you can step into one characters shoes (in a book) and be them for a day who would it be and why? 

Lilac Leroux from These Broken Stars.

It's not because she is rich and her daddy owns the spaceship. But because she is actually on a spaceship. I would love to see the stars from up there. And by the looks of it, it would be my only chance to space travel.

Which character would you pick?

Review: Lois Lane: Cloudy with a Chance of Destruction

Promising new series

Teen Lois Lane, loves reading the Daily Planet and chatting with her friend SmallvilleGuy. Even in high school, she possesses an inquisitive and smart mind that surpasses your average teen (I'm talking chemistry class here). But what I enjoyed most, was watching her react under pressure. This is no Mary Sue. 

This short story provides a great glimpse of Lois Lane Fall Out, that came out in May 2015. Looking forward to following her adventures.

You can read this story for free

Review: Betrayed

The sequel beats the original!

After a catastrophic incident in the House of Night last semester, Zoey is put in charge as the leader of the Dark Daughters (a spiritual sorority.) Of course, she wasn't expecting to get vampyre blood cravings, have three male interests, or make a deal with the enemy. Worse, she wasn't expecting to be caught in a disappearing mystery case. Is Zoey ready to be a leader after all?

This time around, the story was more fast paced. Even Zoey felt more impulsive. Unfortunately, most plot lines just kept leading to lose ends. I kept waiting for the ending to tie them all up, but the story just fell short. 

Looks like some authors drastically push their readers to purchase book three for answers. 

Cover Reveal: Roses are Red

After her foster mother’s unexplained death six months ago, fourteen-year-old Isla Timearth just wants things to go back to normal for her and her twin brother, Monty. But “normal” can only go so far for a closed-off girl with abandonment issues and an anxious boy that gets frequent nosebleeds. Still, the troubled redheads give it a shot by returning to the summer camp they’ve been going to for years. 
But camp traditions get rained on when their biological mother shows up unannounced and, as far as Isla’s concerned, unwelcome. 
Knowing that Mother Nature is the mother of all mood swings, Isla isn’t all that surprised to find out that her temperamental biological mother is the terrestrial goddess. What does surprise her is that Monty, the favorite twin, already knew but never told her. As family secrets start to unravel around her fellow campers, Isla finds out whether blood really is thicker than water. 

This is the first book of the Blood,Sweat and Tears series written by J.B. Kantt. Feel free to follow J.B via her blog, twitter and facebook. 

Feature and Follow Friday: Let them eat crepes

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

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

Q: How would you pitch to the biz to make your favorite book into a movie?

Une photo publiée par natalia (@natyuniverse) le 30 Janv. 2015 à 7h41 PST

Am I allowed to sweetened the deal? 

Truth be told, my favorite books a.k.a the Harry Potter Series have already been turned into movies. I believe that knowing they could not only sell the films, but toys and clothing apparel made the deal even more appealing. Having a huge set of fans behind the book (like for The Fault in our Stars) helps as well.

What's your favorite book/film adaptation?

Review: Falling into Place

The book title falls perfectly -- but the story falls flat.

Liz decides to kill herself on the anniversary of her father's death. She crashes her car down a cliff, thinking that her absentee mother and friends wouldn't miss her. Is suicide ever the way out?

The story is told by the point-of-view of her imaginary childhood friend (a first for me too). But no matter how many flashbacks and insides of Liz we are provided, she is an unlovable character. She bullies other school mates, drinks until she throws up all the time, coerces others into drinking and bulimia, posts horrible embarrassing videos of her crushes. 

All in all, I was just waiting for the machine to __________

Review: The Ice Twins

All love is a form of suicide.

Sarah and Angus appeared to have it all: a beautiful home, a set of identical twins and a faithful dog. But behind closed doors things weren't that perfect. And the death of their twin girl brings everything to light. But exactly which twin died? Why does the child keep switching names? What did happen that night?

The tension in the book is so thick you'd need a knife to slice through it. Both Angus and Sarah keep many things hidden from the reader, and yet, the twins don't fall into the background. It's a beautiful (literary) mess and love plays a major role. Whether it's the preference of one child to another, or simply what happens to couples after children are born. The author really thought these topics through and concocted a crazy scenario. 

A great read that takes place in Scotland.

Review: All's Fair in Love and Cupccakes

Build me up buttercup, but don't break my heart.

Lucas loves Kat so much he's not only her number one baking fan, but also secretly inscribes her into a cupcake competition in NYC. Kat's really excited, and doesn't hesitate to take him along as an assistant. But sadly, as her chances to win keep growing, Lucas fears he will loose her after the show is done. Is it okay to sabotage Kat's chances just to keep her to himself?

Although, the reality show part was a fun concept, it was difficult not to be disappointed with Lucas'personality. He had guts to stand up for Kat, to encourage her dreams in numerous ways -- but when it came to say I love you he couldn't. Not that he lacked the opportunity. 

A bit too repetitive, but I admit, the cupcakes recipes look yummy.