Taylor's Book World

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

Teaser Tuesday #2

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Here are the rules:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share 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 and AUTHOR too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

"So what's your story, Pidge? Are you a man-hater in general, or do you just hate me?" - Travis pg 20 'Beautiful Disaster' by Jamie McGuire

Thursday, 4 April 2013

This week the new City of Bones trailer was released! Let me just warn before viewing this trailer, extreme levels of badassery is occurring, it is highly suggested that if you are a fangirl that you should remember to breathe and take deep breaths and please try not to deafen anyone with high-pitched squealing.

Wasn't that just amazing!! Tell me your favorite part!

Tuesday, 2 April 2013

Review: The Raven Boys

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Published: September 18th 2012
Rating: 3.5

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

After hearing countless of praise for Maggie Stiefvater's newest novel I've finally managed to read it for myself and have come to my own conclusion about how I felt reading The Raven Boys. Confusion. There is no other word to sum up my feelings of this book in a whole. Have you ever heard the saying 'the glass is half full' because that also can generally summaries my thoughts as well. This book has alot of potential and I can see great things for it in the coming books, I don't know precisely what it lacked just that it took my awhile to get into the story and actually care about the characters.

The Raven Boys have three rotating points of view; Blue (a battery magnify for physics), Gansey (a rich scholar) and Adam (a scholarship boy). We follow these three plus other characters- Ronan and Noah- on their quest to find an ancient man named Glendower who's body is supposedly buried on a ley line (ley line is powerful energy found around all over the world), and whoever wakes him up is granted one favor. This is the premises throughout the duration of the novel, however I could see potential plot lines being seeded around everywhere! It seems that Gansey's whole gang has a troubled dark past that I just know that we will eventually get to explore in future books. Ronan in particular was a very colorful character with a vibrant vocabulary in the art of swearing and a very intricate tattoo that appears to change, also not to mention the mysterious murder of his father hangs around in the air. I think we can expect to see more of Ronan and his dark past, something that I'm very excited for! I may have a tiny crush on that bad boy, damn, why are they so addictive? *Sighs*

Anyways... another mysterious thing that was present throughout The Raven Boys was the big question of who Blue's true love is. It may seem a straightforward answer according to the summary but Maggie Stiefvater throws in a sly love triangle! Anyone who read the synopsis would have an inkling that Gansey is Blue's true love however enter Adam! Romance wasn't a dominate feature in The Raven Boys but there were subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle gestures of romance. The love triangle really isn't a proper love triangle as Blue and Gansey constantly bicker in a teasing way- which I personally believe is Gansey's way of flirting- and Adam and Blue have this little hand holding, brush cheek, I want to kiss you (last one from Adam) thing going on. I'm putting my team Gansey sign up right now. I know that those two would be a interesting couple! Adam and Blue were just boring to read, I didn't feel anything, no draw what so ever.

A slightly disappointing start to the series but I have a strong feeling that the sequel The Dream Thieves will be much better! With a bag full of unanswered questions and the looming knowledge that if Blue was to kiss her true love he would die coming to fruition. I'm very excited to see how this haunting read plays out.

-Taylor X

Waiting On Wednesday #2

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. This week's pre-publication, "can't wait to read" is.....

If I Should Die (Revenants #3) by Amy Plum

Release date: May 7th 2013

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

I'm very excited to see how this one ends! So what's your to die for read? Let me know!

Saturday, 30 March 2013

Review: Heist Society

Title: Heist Society
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Heist Society #1
Published: February 9th 2010
Rating: 4

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Fun. Flirty. Adventurous. Mysterious. Those four words come to mind when I think about Heist Society. This was my first time reading a Ally Carter book and she certainly didn't disappoint!

Katarina Bishop is the kind of girl I think we all wanted to be at one stage or another. A life filled with exciting missions, constantly traveling to exotic countries, seeing things your regular teenage self could only dream of experiencing at such a young age. Yes, I think we could all agree that Kat has lived a very adrenaline rushed life. A life for some reason that Kat wants to leave behind, but you don't just walk away from the business Kat runs in, it eventually comes back to bite you, and bite it did!

Kat's dad is in grave danger when Arturo Taccone a very dangerous man known for his "evil ways" thinks that Kat's dad stole his precious paintings and if Kat doesn't find those paintings in two weeks.. lets just say Arturo Taccone will live up to his reputation for his "evil ways". Kat's gorgeous partner in crime W. W. Hale the Fifth joins her in her high stakes mission to pull of this biggest heist yet! Along with Gabrielle, Nick, Simon and the Bagshaw brothers Kat has her wacky team in effect. These teenage thieves have to complete alot in a short period of time. With twists and revelations at every possible corner it's going to be hard to accomplish this heist, even for this strong unit.

I adored every character I met while reading Heist Society! I thought the collection of different personalities was a breath of fresh air. Each character brought something different to the table, whether it be super intelligence to crazy antics or a sassy attitude that could bring some celebrities to shame, Heist Society never bores.

Heist Society is a lighthearted fast paced read. It's an enjoying mystery that'll make you laugh along the way. I highly recommend Heist Society, it's a must-read! A great start to the series, I cannot wait to read Uncommon Criminals and Perfect Scoundrels!

-Taylor X

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Review: Opal

Title: Opal
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #3
Published: December 11th 2012
Rating: 5

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Opal is by far my favorite book in the Lux series so far! Jennifer L. Armentrout never ceases to amaze me with her compulsively lovable writing style.

After the tragic ending of Onyx we get to see in full effect the aftermath of Adam's death and how that disastrous event had a huge consequence on the dynamic of the groups we were use to seeing in Obsidian and Onyx.  Katy's and Dee's friendship is basically non-existent, Dee still holds a great deal of anger towards Katy, that at times annoyed me because Katy didn't kill Adam, right? I understood why Dee was angry I just felt it wasn't just at some periods. Dee now hangs out with Ash and Andrew, quite the contrast to the previous novels. Changes like that were seen throughout Opal.

It was incredible to finally see Katy and Daemon in a relationship. Katy and Daemon take any moment they can together with the craziness surrounding them, they grew extremely close and there love for on another was very obvious. This YA couple I'am hands down jealous of, the intimacy both emotional and physical was a combination of sexy and adorable something that is really had to get right but Jennifer L. Armentrout knows the perfect balance. Katy and Daemon still have their heated conversations and Daemon's jerk side may appear now and then but it was nice to see not everything had changed.

The infamous Blake returns bringing along with him trouble. In big fat capital letters! I've come to the conclusion that I don't like Blake and I never will. It always appeared that he was hiding something, always working an angle, and always generally being a creep. Watching Katy sleeping Exhibit A of the creepiness of Blake Saunders. STAY AWAY! The only thing that bugged me about Katy in Opal was that Blake continued to do weird things and she didn't tell Daemon! Girl that's what your boyfriend is meant for, you tell him when stuff like that goes down!

And now onto the supposedly dead runaway Dawson! Dawson is not the same alien Daemon and Dee were use to. His quite and rarely speaks, his past torments him and the only thing he wants is to get his girlfriend Beth back to safety. This issue is the constant struggle in the novel and makes some of the characters push themselves and do things out of their normal to reach this goal.

One of the things I admired most about Opal was the cliffhanger! I know, strange right? But it was heart-breaking, glass shattering and tear jerking kind of ending that I liked. These kinds of endings make you feel something. It was a cruel ending, just when you think that everything is going to plan for the characters... something shocking happens and the falling pieces of confusion are swept away and you see crystal clear who their real enemies are.

Overall I have alot of feels for Opal. I just want Origin now! I need it now, okay? I have to know what happens next! And I'm sure when you read Opal you will feel the same way! Another spectacular read from Jennifer L. Armentrout, this author knows how to make my feels weep!

-Taylor X