1 Followers
11 Following
alittleofthebooklife

A Little of the Book Life

Obviously I love books. I'm here, aren't I? :)

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception - Maggie Stiefvater I wasn't blown away, but I still really enjoyed it! :) Full review to come soon.
The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan Per usual, this story by David Levithan is wonderfully written. Despite enjoying that, I didn't fall in love with this book. I wanted to, but it just didn't happen.

Written in an unconventional way, there's no clear beginning, middle, and end to the story. It jumps around a lot, which makes sense with the way it was written, but I prefer my books to be clear on where we are in the timeline of things. If it's a flashback, great, but let me know it's a flashback. I still, by the end of the story, wasn't sure where things stood. I realize that the story itself isn't the main point of the book. I think it's more of a study of the relationship, picking it apart and trying to describe things that are typically indescribable. Once I got past the wanting of a typical story I was able to enjoy it much more than I had been (this was about 1/3 of the way through).


I did enjoy the characters, despite being nameless. I like how everything was told from his point of view and that's all we got. We have no idea what was going on in her head/heart, only his. I actually liked that for this one. I liked getting glimpses into their relationship and seeing how things unfolded, even if it wasn't told in the usual way.


If you read it, my favorite entry was probably "livid". For no reason other than the sheer emotion emanating from the page. Levithan is masterful sometimes.


I'd recommend it with the disclaimer that I didn't love it but that it's still a good read.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith Such a fun, quick read that also had some depth to it. Hadley and Oliver meet in an airport on their way to London. They just so happen to be sitting side by side on the airplane and spend 7 hours talking about the important things in life - talking ducks, favorite colors, weddings, and whiskey. And then they go their separate ways as Hadley makes her way to her father's wedding.

When we meet Hadley, she's a shell of mixed emotions and a lot of anger toward her father. Smith does an excellent job of having Hadley jump the hurdles in her life and reach the other side being stronger for it. We see a lot of growth as she travels to London and makes decisions that not only affect her, but her father as well.

With Oliver we don't see quite as much change, but the story isn't about him quite as much as it is about Hadley and her family. But we do see a side of him at one point that was so real and true that it nearly broke my heart.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit and definitely could see myself revisiting it. It is a love story, but it's so much more than that at the same time. Definitely worth reading.
Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake I feel like I'm on a good reading streak and I'm afraid it's going to end soon. lol Seriously, I loved how creepy this book was. Kendare Blake did not hold back, which is good. I think if she had held back on some of the more sinister or gruesome aspects the story would not have rung as true.

Cas comes to town with the intent to kill Anna, sending her wherever they end up going when he does so, and then move on. What he doesn't count on is letting people into his life and finding out there's more to Anna's story than your typical I-was-killed-and-now-I'm-angry ghost story. Her death was more unnatural and wrong than others, and it will take more than usual to get things done.

I love Cas and his attitude. It was exciting to me because every time I opened the book to read more I felt like I was right alongside him and his friends. I was the invisible one, who was rooting for them and helping them along, unbeknownst to them, of course. I yelled at them, I felt for them, I cried for them. I completely understood why Anna spared Cas his life; and I would have been angry at her if she hadn't. He wasn't your I-can-do-anything-hero. He's fallible and he knows his own strengths and his weaknesses. He doesn't act all stunned and hurt when he's not the one on top. He accepts it and does what he needs to do to move forward. And that involves something he's never done before - rely on others.

This story was so eerie and macabre at times. I can't wait to dive into the next book, Girl of Nightmares, as soon as I get my hands on it.

Tragic - J.A. Huss I participated in the Release Day blitz for this and I did receive a copy from the JA Huss (she's awesome). For some reason I could only open it on my computer at work, though, so I ended up buying it from Amazon for .99 cents. ;) I read it in a day. That's a feat for me, given time constraints. But anyway.


I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I had no trouble diving right in. We meet Rook, we know she's jobless instantly; we know she's broke, homeless, and running. But she's strong. Despite everything, she not living as a victim of her circumstances, she's fighting. She meets Ronin, and we know her past has broken her just by her reaction. She's thrown into this world of modeling as she tries to save money and get her life back on track.

I did feel her acclimation to being touched constantly in this model setting seemed a bit rushed, though, given how she had reacted to hearing the argument when she arrived at the studio. She quickly accepted the idea of being touched in varying ways rather quickly, which took me out of the story as I pondered how realistic that was.


Ronin is the quintessential bad boy. He's dark, edgy, and an asshole (I could quote from the book for that one), but he's also caring, patient, and gentle. I loved that he wanted to take care of her, more than was just his job. He wanted her to feel she deserved to be loved and cared about. I did enjoy the relationship building as it did. It was intense and smoldering.

A pitfall for me: The length. I felt some things were a bit rushed, like I already mentioned above. I think the story could have been developed a little more to allow for the changes Rook needed to make.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. JA Huss did a great job of telling us a story and making it believable, plausible. I am definitely looking forward to reading more when Manic comes out in August.
Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell I. Loved. This. Book. Seriously. I feel like I may say that too often. I need to work on that. But really. This story, with its broken characters and saving graces kept me awake at night and thinking about it well after I had finished it. It broke my heart into a thousand pieces. I laughed out loud numerous times. I cried, numerous times.


So the characters. I hated Eleanor's mom and for a time disliked Park's mom. But, they were there, in the story, ever present and existing. It's always a plus for me, especially in the contemporary genre, to see parents actually present and existing within their kid's life. I loved how real Eleanor & Park seemed to me. I felt like I was right there on the bus with them, feeling their awkwardness and nervousness as their friendship grew. The inner dialogue was just as great as the actual dialogue and I was very impressed with the honesty that Park had with himself.


The story itself...should touch anyone who reads it. Adult, teen, it doesn't matter. Even if you've never experienced the actual events that transpire within the story there's something to relate to. The time period, being bullied, being *a* bully... it's all there. In all it's shocking glory. The writing was near perfection for me. I wanted to live in it.


Read it... and if you regret it I would be surprised. I don't really have the words to describe how touched I was by this book.


Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta This was my mystery book that Malissa sent me. I was super excited to dive into it, despite not knowing *anything* about it. I didn't know the title, the author, the description; nothing. The anticipation was killing me.

It didn't take long for me to guess the title of the book I was reading, given how quickly and often the Jellicoe Road is mentioned, but I couldn't remember the description, so I still had that going for me. I didn't mind one bit, though. All it took was the first line:

"My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted."

I was hooked.

Taylor had me from the beginning. I wanted desperately to know her story, and how it connected with Tate, Narnie, Webb, & Fitz. I wanted to know how she came to be at the Jellicoe School and where her family went. I wanted to know it all. I wanted to know it so badly, I could barely put it down.

The war between the Cadets, Townies, and the school amused me. Just how seriously they took it, I think, it was what got me the most. It seemed so trivial, something that could be a lot of fun, but there was such a seriousness to it, like it was meant to be equivalent to a real war. For me it was a fun aspect of the story that added a lot to each character.

And the characters. Melina Marchetta knows how to write some characters, that's for sure. Taylor was so stubborn, and trusted no one, really. I mean, why should she trust anyone? She was dumped by her mother. The closest thing to family she has is Hannah, and even that can be tenuous. And Jonah, with his hardened exterior due to so many judgements from others... how could I not adore him? I truly enjoyed watching the both of them grow as they come to realize and learn things about not only themselves but one another and what it means to love and truly be there for someone you care about.

Although this isn't a mystery book, there was definitely an air of mystery involved. I felt like I was putting together a puzzle the entire time I was reading, and I loved it.

I would definitely recommend this to nearly anyone. I immersed myself in it and feel I'm better for it.
Insurgent - Veronica Roth I loved this book. I wish I could spend more time with Tris and this world. I love the way Veronica Roth writes things. She doesn't just tell you something, she makes you feel it, live it.

There seemed to be a lot of struggle going on in this story. There's the obvious struggle between the factions, trying to figure out who's on what side and who to trust. But there's also a major internal struggle warring itself inside Tris.This caused some waffling in her previous strength, but it was all understandable. She's not infallible, she's a teenage girl, despite not wanting to be seen as one. Even an adult would likely struggle if put in her situation. She's scared, she's sad, she's lost her ability to see even her own strength until it's almost too late.

I really liked that physical pain lasted as well. I realize that might sound mean, but it made it so much more realistic. She was shot; that should affect her abilities for a while. And it does. She's human and easy to relate to.

I am anxiously waiting for Allegiance. :)
Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent, #1.1) - Veronica Roth I read this at the end of Insurgent. I loved reading a scene from Four's point of view, although I wish there had been more. We get a glimpse into his head, though, which is awesome enough. :) Definitely worth a read... it only took me maybe 10-15 minutes.
The Lucy Variations - Sara Zarr All I really knew about this book was that it was written by Sara Zarr, who I have enjoyed in the past, and it had to do with music, which I love. And I was not disappointed.

Lucy grew up in a world completely foreign to me, but it didn't feel foreign while reading it. I was impressed with how easy it was to feel how it would be growing up in a household such as Lucy's and Gustav's. Zarr transported me to a world completely unfamiliar to me and I felt like I was part of it. More importantly, I felt I was part of the relationships within the story.

Lucy has a tendency to be selfish without even realizing it. Everything about her - from her selfishness, her indecisiveness, her friendships, her relationships with her family members - felt real. Nothing was perfect, as is the reality of life. There were parts that made me talk aloud to her, like she was sitting right next to me and could hear my advice to her. "No, you shouldn't be yelling at that person, you need to yell at this person." Alas, she didn't hear me and yelled at the wrong one. But still. I cared about her and how her choices were effecting herself and her family and friends.

I don't think Zarr could have ended it better, though. Her choices led her to a life that she chose, not that was chosen for her.And that's an important lesson in life, for all ages.
Divergent - Veronica Roth I loved this story. Can I stop there? I don't want to ruin anything. Okay. Thanks. Done.

No, really, I did really love this story. The bleak world Veronica Roth created and how she made me feel I was there, part of the Abnegation as Beatrice/Tris tries to decide what is best for her, and if that's the decision she should make. Does she do what she wants to do or does she do what she's expected to do? The factions, how it's broken up by "good" qualities and as if no one has any bad qualities or possesses the qualities of all factions. They are not mutually exclusive, these traits, and it shows in the characters.

The characters. I loved (I really need to find another word... sheesh) and hated characters Veronica created. Their strength, vulnerability, and flaws all felt real, not contrived. I wasn't just being told about Tris' confusion, I felt it. I understood why it was hard for her to let go of some things, to embrace a new part of her life. The way Veronica portrayed some characters (I don't want to give anything away, so I'm being vague on purpose) made me hate them. And not like "S/He's an ass, she should stay away from him," but more in the way of, "I &%#$ing hate them and I hope they die," sort of way. It's a good thing these are characters in a book because I would question my sanity after that thought. :)

Other characters surprised me in their loyalty and their place in the story. Ms. Roth holds nothing back and has no qualms about where the story takes her. I cried, I laughed, and I loved. Speaking of love, I enjoyed the romantic relationship building as it did. It wasn't insta-love to me, and it was confusing and intense, tentative and tender. It had the real characteristics of a new love brewing, not an obsession. That was nice.

Given the type of book, you obviously know where things are headed as far as a bigger picture goes. But I like the way it progressed, the unexpected twists and turns she took me down. I am anxious to read on.
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1) - Maureen Johnson After reading Requiem, I really needed a breather from seriousness. From death and destruction and the heaviness of the world ending and all. This seemed like the perfect pick.

I've read four books now by Maureen Johnson. While the first, Devilish, still remains my favorite of hers, this one didn't fair too bad either. It's cute, whimsical, and fun.

While it was an adventure, I did have some problems with it. She is 17 years old. And I'm not sure it matters just how mature that child is, as a mom myself I cannot fathom letting my 17 year old daughter traipse across Europe without contact, without a buddy, without something. Maybe it's the way some people live, but for me I just can't imagine it. But once I got past that (I maybe, possibly, pictured as a college student... that's definitely possible), I was able to enjoy her ride a bit more.

I also struggled with how naively trusting she was. I realize that she trusted her aunt and so knocking on whatever doors Aunt Peg told her to was perfectly ok with me. But the random strangers she meets and just automatically trusts them not to, I don't know, murder her in her sleep, seems a bit extreme. It would be awesome if our world was that nice, but it's really not. I know, I know, there was the one shady character, but even that didn't seem to be a big deal to her. She just brushed it off like, "Oh, that happened. I'm not freaked out at all."

Overall, I did enjoy the story. We get to see Ginny grow little on her adventurous side and come to accept that her aunt is gone. It's a fun, light read, and I look forward to seeing what happens in The Last Little Blue Envelope.
The Last Little Blue Envelope - Maureen Johnson I actually enjoyed this one more than the first one. I wasn't sure, going in, what to expect to get from this. I liked 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would, so I left it a bit disappointed. However, I left this one quite happy with where the story went and how it was all tied together.

I really like Maureen Johnson's writing and how she incorporates wittiness and sarcasm into her characters. The storyline was a smidgen predictable, in the broadest of the term, but there were still some nice surprises along the way.

This isn't a heavy read, or a life-changing, thought provoking read. Yes, there are some nice insights made, revelations to be had, but overall this is an upbeat story that I felt fairly light after reading it. I like that.
Requiem - Lauren Oliver I've sat on this a few days. I really wanted to process my feelings before delving into a review. And I haven't picked up another book in the meantime. I mean, dang it! Lauren Oliver has left me with such a hangover that I don't even know what I want to read now.


Before I go on, I want to say that I will make this spoiler free for the third book only. There will be spoilers from Delirium and Pandemonium, seeing as how I couldn't talk about much at all without them. :)


So let's recap: Lena lives in a society where love is seen as a disease. It corrupts and destroys. It hinders and hurts. Therefore, every citizen at the ripe age of 18ish has to undergo a procedure, The Cure, where they will no longer have such feelings. Before she is cured, though, Lena meets Alex. And falls in love. So in love that she risks everything to escape to the Wilds (the lands outside the border walls inhabited by "Invalids", those who have not been cured) with him. Unfortunately, only she makes it over the wall and the last she sees of Alex is a swarm of Regulators engulfing him as she escapes and he distracts them so she can go free. Moving onto Pandemonium, Lena is in the Wilds, learning to live a completely different life and learning what the resistance is all about. She is forced into a situation where she is kidnapped with Julian, the poster boy for the Deliria-Free America, and held captive in the Underground. I don't want to give it all away, but needless to say he ends up on the side of the resistance, for the freedom to choose whether or not to love. After he and Lena save one another, in more ways than one, Alex shows up. OF COURSE!


Okay. So that's the bare bones of the first two. Let me start with the love interests, here. As you can imagine, the re-emergence of Alex doesn't bode well for Lena and Julian's new-found relationship. There's a lot of tension. Not just between Alex and Lena, but between all three of them. Alex is angry, hurt, and hateful toward Lena. Here he shows up after escaping The Crypts and she is promising to be with Julian? Understandable. I was a bit annoyed with how easily Lena seemed to give up and turn one from one boy to another. But it worked well, I think, because with the freedom of choice also comes the pain of choice. The pain of words spoken or not spoken. The pain of people changing. So it worked well for the story, I think, I just didn't like it.


Oh my goodness, the writing. I will love Lauren Oliver forever for it. She doesn't just say things. She makes you feel them, and want to feel them again. Everything that happened I felt I was there, breathing it, touching it, experiencing it. Oliver says things in such beautiful way, too, that it just flows.

"Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it. But we have chosen a different road. And in the end that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose. We are even free to choose the wrong thing."

"How can someone have the power to shatter you to dust - and also to make you feel so whole?"

I loved that she did the Lena vs Hana perspective. It gave us a chance to see the Cured vs Uncured. How did the Cure really change someone? What was life like after? And my goodness, seeing Hana struggle with convention was refreshing, and she finally ended with a redeeming act that allowed me to forgive her her transgressions. I really think I held more of a grudge than Lena herself did. It was amazing to me how easy Lauren Oliver made it to see the upside of the Cure. How easy and less messy life could be with it. But at the same time she made such an argument to stop the Cure. Life shouldn't be that pristine. (I bet she'd be great at debates...)


The ending. Or, to some, the ending that wasn't an ending. Or, to others, the ending that left them wanting. Personally, the more I think about it, the more I like it. The entire time I was reading it was like a balloon was being blown up and I kept waiting for it to explode. It never really did that. But that's okay. It's still hanging there, with all the other balloons from all the other cities where the resistance is attacking, and they'll all pop eventually. It's not about the war or the revolt, but about the journey to get there, to taking down the walls that separate people and breaking the barriers. Nothing is tied up neatly with a red bow nor is everything resolved, but it's ready to be. We may not get to see it, but we know it.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone - Laini Taylor This book was refreshingly different for me. I loved the world that Laini Taylor built. I became fully immersed and had trouble leaving it and only did when I was forced to (you know, work, kids, dinner, etc). I really liked how Taylor was able to pair the real world alongside the mystical world in which Karou grew up. The writing pulls you in, chews you up, spits you out, then pulls you in again.

And her characters... I loved how they were all fallible; no one is ever perfect, we are all flawed. Karou is a strong willed young woman who doesn't understand everything but is willing to go to great lengths to get answers. Akiva stole my heart. His darkness, his brokenness, his protectiveness, his reasons. I love it all. And of course, just like tragic Romeo & Juliet, there's a star-crossed lovers appeal here. One of my favorites is Zuzana. Who doesn't want a best friend like her? Someone who accepts you no matter who (or what) you are, who will always tell it like it is, and who will be there, no questions asked. Such a strong secondary character and I hope we see more of her in the future.

The overall storyline captivated me from beginning to end. I wanted, like Karou, to get answers, to unveil the mysteries, if you will. I wanted to know the who, the what, the why. The connections that weren't there I wanted made. And I love that what you think you know you may not actually know. Taylor creates a story that keeps you guessing and theorizing until the bitter end. And, for me, the lingering questions: What makes someone evil? What makes them good? Can you only be what you were born to be? Can things change?

In this story, there's self discovery. There's longing, wishing, dreaming. There's chaos. There's war. But mostly, there's hope.

I am really looking forward to following Karou's story in Days of Blood and Starlight. :)
Out of The Easy - Ruta Sepetys I *loved* this book. I have no regrets over buying it. I imagine it having a long life span on my shelf, with others having the opportunity to love it just as much as I did. I've said it before, but it's becoming rather apparent to me that I can't really say it with any truth. I am not a huge fan of historical fiction. The lack of truth in that statement is glaringly obvious when I look at some of my favorites: Code Name Verity, Revolution, Out of the Easy... lol. I'm starting to love it. ;)

I picked this book up in my local bookstore and read the first page. I had to have it. Any book that starts with "My mother is a prostitute." as it's first sentence deserves to be owned. I don't know why, exactly, it just does. Kind of like when you see a coin lying on the ground - you just have to pick it up. Must. Be. Done.

I dove into this book not knowing what to expect. 1950's New Orleans? Doesn't really seem like my type of setting. It was so well done, though, that I didn't even realize I had been transported to a different time and place until I was already there.

Even though the writing drew me in, it was the characters who made me stay. Sepetys created characters that jumped out of the story, filling my mind, my world. There were characters I loved ~ Josie, Jesse, Cokie, Willie... all for different reasons. There were characters I felt indifference toward, and characters I despised. In fact, if I met said character on the street, I may take a page out of the mob's book and make that person disappear. Just a thought. That being said, all the ups, all the downs, I was right there, feeling them right along with Josie. Her frustration and uncertainty, her hopes and wishes, her sadness and anger. There seems to be something different lurking behind every shadow in New Orleans, just waiting to jump out and put a damper on Josie's life.

No matter how many times those shadows try to smother her, we get to be alongside her as she grows and discovers strengths she didn't know she possessed. She accepts herself, her past, and comes to realize that she decides her own fate; it's not decided for her.