Me! Me! Me!

So, I've been away for a very long time, but I wanted to share this right now with you all because I am that excited! These are the reviews IIIIII wrote *tears up* for Portland Book Review and I just thought I would let you all know.

In my blog reviews, I do not usually write out my own summary of the book because I love Goodreads too much. It was a tad on the challenging side to be concise and write a summary + review in under 200 words, but I don't think I did too bad. Feel free to give me tips or suggestions for improving especially the summary part of these tiny reviews. Hopefully, I will continue with this for a very long time.

"Dreamless: A Starcrossed Novel

Published on August 29, 2012 by Site Owner in Young Adult

By Josephine Angelini
Harper Teen, $17.99, 496 pages

Helen is devastated because of Lucas, but love isn’t the only problem she has to face in Dreamless. Every night she descends into the Underworld trying to find the way to free the Furies and Scions from the blood debts, although every night the same torture awaits her. Exhaustion from sleepless nights and days and aching loneliness quickly leaves Helen emotionally unstable, but mysterious funny, strong and smart Orion (Helen’s saving grace), helps her navigate the Underworld is a necessity. To complete her part in the prophecy and also save herself before an impossible new foe gets her first, Helen must fight with strength she does not think she has.

In this book the author creates an incredible realm of possibilities and its vivid imagery is better than in the first book of the series. The new character, Orion, is a welcome relief of the very intense and crushingly real pain Helen is going through. Although it is a long book, the fast pacing, fights and actions make the time reading it fly by, leaving the readers with disappointment because it had to end, but eagerness for the next installment.

Reviewed by Isabel Hernandez" LINK: http://www.portlandbookreview.com/dreamless-a-starcrossed-novel/

"The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Published on July 18, 2012 by Site Owner in Young Adult

By Jennifer E. Smith
Poppy, $17.99, 236 pages

In twenty-four hours, Hadley’s world changes. On her way to her father’s wedding, she barely copes with the resentment she feels toward him and the claustrophobia in the airport. She is four minutes late, missing her flight to London, but those four minutes are key to maybe the rest of her life. Love, grief, forgiveness and redemption are all explored in this sometimes funny and sometimes bitter novel.

Early on, the romance seems to take center stage, gradually building a believable relationship between Hadley and the British boy, Oliver, as they sit and chat next to each other during the flight. Both are headed to London, but both will come out with very different experiences at the end of the day. Witty banter, quirky dialogue and realistic characters give hope that love at first sight might just exist. But it isn’t all romance. Hadley will grow tremendously and her relationship with her father ends up being the most important aspect of her interaction with Oliver. A story of beginnings and ends, this novel is a beautifully written demonstration of what it means to move on.

Reviewed by Isabel Hernandez" LINK: http://www.portlandbookreview.com/the-statistical-probability-of-love-at-first-sight/

And they are both five star books! I am oh-so-very happy to be able to expand my love of books and work with different people. There really can be nothing better than getting paid in books! Paper has to contain some vitamins, right? Right?!

Betrayal

Author: Gregg Olsen

Source: Publisher ARC

Release Day: September 4th, 2012

Summary: (Goodreads) In this action-packed thriller sequel to "Envy," foreign exchange student Olivia Grant is stabbed to death after a party--and the prime suspect is her best friend. As twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan get pulled into aftermath of this Amanda Knox-like crime, they realize nothing is what it seems. Could it be betrayal of the ultimate kind? "Betrayal" features real-life crime-solving techniques, heart-stopping suspense, plenty of red herrings, hard-hitting ethical questions, and information about the Amanda Knox case that inspired the novel. As the crime unravels, so does the twins' past...and they must face off against a family member who may unexpectedly have carried out the worst betrayal of all.

Review: Starting off with the cons, my ARC had a lot of typos and name-switching, so that impeded some of the readability. The finished copy should be better though. Also, this is a part of The Empty Coffin series, number 2, and I have not read the first one, Envy, so I am not sure if I am majorly missing out on something. I felt I understood everything perfectly.

Although the summary is mostly about the murder of Olivia Grant, it appears that this series also has the twins' story as the backdrop. They have what seems to be a paranormal connection with each other and an ability that helps them as they play detective for this and probably the other Empty Coffin books. They are compelling and their story is one that I do want to follow even after the mystery of Olivia's death is solved.

I do not think that one hundred years would have sufficed for me to eventually figure out the killer. It was a huge surprise and quite a twist in the story when the truth was revealed. It fit perfectly, but it was unexpected which kept the suspense up throughout the novel.

The cover is stunning and straight out of the book. It connects with the scene in which Olivia is killed perfectly and is as ominous as the mystery surrounding her death. This was a dark book, but the twins gave a slightly objective perspective to the story while the writing was also very narrative. It was cold more than emotionally devastating which brought out the qualities of the culprit in the end of the novel. Mystery buffs will enjoy the writing style and the rest of the series still holds appeal, although I consider this an excellent stand-alone read.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Tiger's Voyage

Author: Colleen Houck

Source: Publisher ARC

Release Day: September 4th, 2012

Summary: (Goodreads) With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling "Tiger's Curse" series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all. A smart phone tag code on the back cover links readers to the series website.

Review: This is the fourth book in the series, bringing the end of the journey with it. At first, it was a tad difficult to get into, but a few pages, the adventure truly peaks and things unimaginable happen. This is a good book with which to end this series! My ARC did not contain the ending, so I cannot base on it on whether I am happy with it completely, but you can bet that I will be picking this up as soon as it is released!

The plot moves at a good pace in this book, but the emotional side of the characters is explored a little more than in the previous ones. There are a couple very unbelievable twists which readers may or may not have expected, but overall the characters show some growth in getting past their personal obstacles.

Kelsey is probably the one that grows the most during this story, because she ends up being in a position stronger than that of the brothers. This isn't as much her struggle between them, as much as it really is about breaking the curse and fulfilling her destiny in fighting Lokesh. The instances where she saves instead of is saved grow and are an indication of the changes Kelsey goes through.


Lots of action with wonderful writing create a story that is as believable as this exotic fantasy  can ever be. The new characters definitely add another supernatural element. New foes lead up to the bigger one and this book handles the final war very well. The battle scenes were epic! Those who love this series will definitely have something amazing to look forward to in this final book.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 5

Song: Montage

Artist: Gukkasten

Language: Korean

About: Gukkasten is a four member indie rock band from South Korea active since 2003. I first heard of them from EatYourKimchi with their songs Manicure. Insta-love right there. But this is probably my favorite Gukkasten song ever! I cannot get enough of the singer's voice with his high notes and then the deep ones and it just feels unique. Lots of emotion. The beat is addicting and although I have no idea what the song is about, I really get into it which is an indicator of a good song.To me, it does not feel as heavy as I usually think the rock genre to be. It is quick with some head-bang worthy parts, but it also slows down. If you haven't listened to them before, I hope you enjoy this song!

MV:

Song: Hildegard

Artist: Frittenbude

Language: German

About: This German band is described as ElectroPunk  by Wiki. That was the only word that looked English in the article. I don't know German...but I have a couple songs that I've just fallen in love with by them. And this is a new one! My chosen obsession.

I hope you guys enjoy the beginning beat almost reminiscent of Doctor Who? and get as addicted as I did. German is an interesting language to listen to with the throaty sounds adding something to how I hear it. I'm not attempting to pass this off as a song review....because I don't review songs, but I do love sharing music with others! Take a listen!

Audio:

K-Movie: Spy Girl

About: Another Korean movie that I really enjoyed! From the summary, the story seems more serious than it actually is. The poster also makes it seem like it will be an adult story, but it isn't. It is college aged students figuring out life. It is a comedy, but what really makes this story beautiful is the chemistry between Go Bong and Gye Soon. The sweetness of their relationship overflows and both characters are lighthearted, sincere and dorky at times.


Lots of action is packed in this movie, but the lack of seriousness in the spy is surprising. There is a sense of an ironic mood to the acting, which I surprisingly find to be a relief since it fluffs up the plot.


Although I was a tiny bit disappointed by the lack of actual spy scenes, this turned out to be a great rom-com. Highly recommended for fans of the actor Gong Yoo,  who was the male lead in Coffee Prince, and in the currently airing drama, Big. Light, cute and great leads!


Summary: (MySoju) Go-bong has a huge crush on Gye-soon who works at a fast food restaurant. He puts her photo on their internet and she becomes the hottest girl in town. But she is frustrated because she is a spy from North Korea to catch a betrayer...

Rating: 4 outta 5


I also recommend My Mighty Princess if you enjoy this. Both have fairly fluffy plots and amazingly sweet characterization.

K-Movie: My Mighty Princess

About: I've been on a Korean movie watching...run. Because I am currently watching I do, I do and also Big, but I'm caught up with the episodes and didn't want to start a new drama. K-movies have been holding me over. This movie has the actress, Shin Min Ah, who played Gu Mi Ho in My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox. I absolutely loved her in that drama and she plays a similarly cute character in My Mighty Princess.


At first, the ridiculous special effects give a not so good first impression. The exaggerations do give way to a more layered story. Although this is a comedy, there were moments where I cried. The plot line flowed fantastically well. And So Hwi's childhood friend, Il Young, possesses a unique personality. This is a really cute movie and the final scenes are impressively done.


Other than the effects at the beginning, it is hard to believe the slight love triangle created. There wasn't enough of the other guy for him to even matter to this movie. The plot mostly relied on the evil villain to move forward, so I felt like the other side story was unnecessary. Also, the end was happy, but I really would have loved a better resolution. Still, the light and dark aspects of the story along with the martial arts, combined with the adorable Shin Min Ah, makes this movie one of my favorites.

Summary: (MySoju.com) KANG So-hwi, a beautiful martial arts prodigy, is about to embark on a journey into adulthood. But her journey is like no other. Her super-human strength and martial arts prowess scares away her fellow undergrads and even the boy she has fallen for. Devastated, So-hwi decides to give up martial arts and takes a different path. Her father, a martial artist himself, is afraid of losing an heiress to the family’s martial artistry, and missions So-hwi’s old buddy Ilyoung to persuade her to stay in the field. Meanwhile, the evil Heuk-bong provokes a war to conquer the martial arts world with the legendary Fine Blade he stole in the past, killing every swordsman one after another. So-hwi’s father comes to a showdown with Heuk-bong, but the battle leaves him fatally injured. On the brink of her father’s death, So-hwi picks up a sword again with a burning desire for revenge.


Rating: 4 outta 5

Top Ten Tuesday Freebie

Hello! First time participating in this feature, but I am also a list addict. Love reading these posts on other blogs and hope that I will become a regular participant. This weekly meme was created and is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click on their link to find out more and see upcoming topics for the following weeks.

Since this is a freebie post, I want to share my Top Ten List of Re-Read Books. These are novels I don't think I could ever get tired of reading over and over again.

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

This historical novel is an emotional read with so many well-developed characters and Death as the narrator. It is Liesel's story, but the narrative point of view is amazing. Looking forward to re-reading this again soon!

Goodreads



Title: Flipped

Author: Wendelin Van Draanen

I've read this twice...about five years ago. But I remember loving it so much. Although I think this was a case of book-cover-love-translates-into-book-love. But I will soon read it again to make sure that I love it for being awesome. I remember switching perspectives. Little Girl tries to kiss Little Boy who then runs away? And something about egg cartons.
Goodreads

Title: Speak

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Probably the first book I read dealing with such heavy issues. The main character is very withdrawn and ostracized by all her former friends because she called the cops. Had a good reason. But no one will listen until she...speaks. Dark and realistic. I teared up along with her whenever she tried to comfort herself or keep moving ahead. Her inner pain was palpable.
Goodreads

 Title: Ella Enchanted

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Absolutely my most favorite author of  my childhood. I'm only 19, (today is my birthday!), but I loved all of her books. Why? Fairytales! This was the first book I read written by her and I cannot get enough of it. The movie was great too. Super story. A lovely prince. Good times. Good, good times. Read four or five times and will read it at least another five.
Goodreads

Title: Chasing Redbird
Author: Sharon Creech

Read at least four times. I think it may be the writing that has me experiencing the book like the first time because it is always refreshing and heavy with the feel of a lazy summer. Maybe the details and imagery keep it new since it does not really matter that I know what is going to happen, but Zinny's emotional growth and the adorably cute Jake Boone are characters worth seeing again and again.

Goodreads



Title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Author: J.K. Rowling

As the first book in the series, this sets up the fantastical world of Harry Potter. We get the English setting. We find out what kind of kid Harry is. We start strongly disliking his aunt and uncle and the evil bully kid. I personally think it is the best in the entire series because it is how it all begins. The contrast between his two lives is never more apparent than in this novel. Think I've read it three or four times and will re-read it again soon!
Goodreads

Title: Esperanza Rising

Author: Pam Muñoz Ryan

A case in where the setting is spectacular. I loved the descriptions and colors and time period and Esperanza's story. I'm Mexican-American, so I had heard some stories about this time from my parents and grandparents. It was fun to read about. Didn't like the main character at all in the beginning, but she grew on me. Slowly. Recommend for those reluctant younger readers. I know I will re-read this one for the third time in the near future.

Goodreads

I know there isn't ten, but my brain is fried. The nostalgia at looking back for these is great. Motivates me to go to the library or something. I hope you enjoy this post and I hope I see you here again next Tuesday!

Dreamless

Author: Josephine Angelini

Source: PortlandBookReview copy for review...(I need a better little blurb for this).

Favorite Character: Orion. He is funny and uses humor to smooth out awkwardness. Easily brushes off failure and is very friendly.

Summary: (Goodreads) Can true love be forgotten?

As the only scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.

Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out--a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies' cry for blood is growing louder.

As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen's sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.


Review: While the first book in the series was very plot driven, this one slows down just enough to really make it better. For those who couldn't get past the 2-dimensional characters in Starcrossed, Dreamless won't disappoint on that front. Helen is more characterized. More real. And although there is still some odd connection between her and Lucas, Helen  interacts perfectly with the other characters. Her strength is tested and this book is an emotional roller-coaster. Almost psychological, if you will. I  loved this aspect of the novel as it brought the story to life.

I felt slightly overwhelmed by all the things that happened in the first book, so I did have to re-read the ending of Starcrossed to orient myself. Good thing too because it really got me invested in this one. The secrets and web of lies start to make more and more sense in this one and new characters are introduced that are multi-layered and complex. The magic is exquisite and of course the descriptions are vivid. The strength is really great writing!

I still need more chemistry between Helen and Lucas and I cannot wait to find out what will happen to them later on. This book to sum it up was the battle, but the next promises to be the war. It is really exciting and I am glad that I got more characterization from this story. Cannot wait to pick up the third book!

Rating 1 2 3 4 5

Waiting on Wednesday: Drain You

Another Wednesday is upon us! WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from BreakingTheSpine used to spotlight books we are eagerly awaiting the release of. Here is what I am waiting for today:

Author: M. Beth Bloom

Release Day: July 24th, 2012

Summary: (Goodreads) Every night I'd lie there in bed and look out at the hills behind our house, listening. I knew there'd be consequences.

Actions meant reactions. Sunrises meant sunsets. My fear was too permanent, lasting longer than eyeliner, something I wore every day and didn't wash off.

Quinlan Lacey's life is a red carpet of weird fashions, hip bands, random parties, and chilling by the pool with her on-and-off BFF Libby. There's also her boring job (minimum wage), a crushed-out coworker (way too interested), her summer plans (nada), and her parents (totally clueless). Then one night she meets gorgeous James, and Quinn's whole world turns crazy, Technicolor, 3-D, fireworks, whatever.

But with good comes bad and unfortunately, Quinn's new romance brings with it some majorly evil baggage. Now, to make things right, she has to do a lot of things wrong (breaking and entering, kidnapping, lying, you name it).

There's normal, and then there's paranormal, and neither are Quinlan's cup of Diet Coke. Staying sane, cool, in love, and alive isn't so easy breezy.


My Thoughts: From the synopsis, it sounds like it is going to be sort of psychological thriller with paranormal elements. These two seem like very different aspects and I am curious to see if this is a sort of abusive relationship type of story or if the guy just has "evil" secrets. Either way, love this cover!