Waiting on Wednesday: 34 Pieces of You

Hello! It has been awhile since I've actively worked on my blog. My apologies. It is nearing finals week and I have yet to learn all the muscles in the human body :o  I also have a paper to write on the Korean myth of Gumiho. That is going to be serious fun, but definitely time-consuming.

But don't fret! I've been reading more than I should this past week. Many reviews to come, but it will take many ticks and tocks of the clock. In the meantime, look out for the "WoW"s because this year is full of books I absolutely cannot wait to read. This weekly meme is brought to you by Jill from BreakingTheSpine and serves the purpose of showcasing those books to be released. Here is what I am waiting for this week!

Title: 34 Pieces of You

Author: Carmen Rodrigues

Release Day: September 4th, 2012

Summary: (goodreads) There was something about Ellie... Something dangerous. Charismatic. Broken. Jake looked out for her. Sarah followed her lead. And Jess kept her distance, and kept watch.

Now Ellie’s dead, and Jake, Sarah, and Jess are left to pick up the pieces. All they have are 34 clues she left behind. 34 strips of paper hidden in a box beneath her bed. 34 secrets of a brief and painful life.
Jake, Sarah, and Jess all feel responsible for what happened to Ellie, and all three have secrets of their own. As they begin to confront the darkest truths about themselves, they will also find out what Ellie herself had been hiding all along...

My Thoughts: There is a lot of mystery in this. What happened to Ellie? What are her friends hiding? How could these four people be friends? I actually care. I actually want to know. But I do love mysteries, even if I am usually the last to figure out who the culprit is.  It also sounds like Ellie had her personal demons to fight. The summary makes me curious and I hope that I highly enjoy this one when it comes out!

Swoon

Author: Nina Malkin

Source: Library

Summary: (goodreads) Sin is coming... Prepare to Swoon.Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him—but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent—and irresistible—adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him. What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?

Review: Interesting...and unexpected. The title is fairly accurate since they live in the town of Swoon, and then suddenly people go all Brave New World on us with the coming of Sin. I just wasn't expecting such sexual tension from a YA novel, so Swoon took me by surprise. I don't understand the hype behind it though. After getting past the initial shock-factor, I still couldn't get into the story as much as the potential that was there would have let me.

Candice was a foolish character. At times, I completely forgot that she was supposed to be  upset about not being in New York City or that she thought Penelope was "perfect, privileged", because Dice was obsessed about Sin. Obsessed. Their relationship was just so off. Nothing about it felt romantic, but more clearly superficial. Sin just felt way too old for his age (probably because he was a ghost from like the beginning of the 1900s. And Dice felt too young. I absolutely could not believe her foolishness when she tried to exorcise Sin. It went horribly.

Overall, I was confused of Sin's intentions toward Dice and the reason behind turning the town's sexual appetite into a weapon against them. It didn't strike me like the kind of thing a blood-thirsty ghost would have done when *spoiler* the supposed love of his life was a victim of rape and killed. Sin Youngblood was also too smart and clever for most of the story. The fact that he spent so much time fooling around with the town, no matter if he thought they deserved it, instead of trying to logically find the murderer seemed very unrealistic for his cunning character.*end of spoiler*

Overall, it was an alright story about a charmingly clever ghost on a mission. Candice and Penelope where pretty well developed as characters even if I didn't completely like their personalities. Maybe I just had really high expectations, and that is why I couldn't enjoy it as much as I thought I was going to. 

Rating: 1 2 3 3.5 4 5

Contest Alert:

Where: Over at Pages: Medicine for the Mind

Who: Why Kirthi of course!

What: One winner will get to pick a book out of nine ARCs listed. There are some really good ones in that pile!

Why: Kirthi aims to  reach 500 followers! For every fifty new followers, she will add another winner, so go on people.

How: Just promote the giveaway anywhere to help her reach her goal. This contest is only US/Canada for now. And it ends when she reaches the magic 500!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Once again, we have reached another Wednesday. Today I will be taking my Anatomy&Physiology Lab Practical at approximately 12pm PST. Wish me luck. The past few nights all I could dream about were bones and there tubercles and trochlear notches and other bone markings. It has been driving me to the brink of insanity!

Anyway, "Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme offering up publicity of the books we are most eagerly awaiting the release of. It is brought to you by Jill from BreakingTheSpine! Here is what I am waiting for today:

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Release Day: October 23rd, 2012

Summary: (goodreads) Two days after Mara walks into a police station in Miami at the close of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, she is committed for psychiatric treatment for what her parents believe is a mental breakdown. But what seems like a hallucination to everyone else is a chilling reality for Mara. Someone from her past has discovered her strange, disturbing secret and that someone wants her to pay. But she's about to discover that the price is more than she can bear.

Dark and thrilling, suspenseful and passionate, The Evolution of Mara Dyer will have readers breathlessly turning pages to find out what will become of Mara Dyer next
My Thoughts: I am very sorry if this is a repeat WoW (I could check my archives, but meh) but it is better that I gush about this as much as I can all over the web. Because the first book in this series was AMAZING. It was mind-blowing. It was INCREDIBLE. And that is why I cannot wait to get my hands on this second book! I know that the journey will be just as explosively intense and mysterious as the first, and if you haven't read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, then you are missing out on one of the best books of 2011. So please, read it. The covers are cool to with a similar theme. Cover <3

Someone Else's Fairytale

Author:  Emily M. Tippets

Source: Author

Summary: (goodreads) Jason Vanderholt, Hollywood's hottest actor, falls head over heels for everygirl, Chloe Winters, who hasn't gotten around to watching most of his movies. She becomes the woman every other woman in America is dying to be, but it just isn't her fairytale.

Review: A truly beautiful love story. Without a doubt, this is going to be a very memorable book, especially because these cinderella-like stories never get old to those that devour them like I do. While I was reading it, Chloe's voice was clear and engaging. When I wasn't reading it, I could still hear the characters in my mind and that made this a very difficult book to put down.

Someone Else's Fairytale finds its strength in the voices of Chloe and Jason. Although it is from Chloe's point of view, the reader does get to know Jason just as well as her. I absolutely could not get enough of her witty sarcasm and the first, stilted, awkward conversations she had with Jason. Those moments felt real to me. This book in general was like that.

This may be a "fairy-tale" plot, but Chloe is a very realistic and relatable gal who is not easily swayed by anyone. Her perspective of relationships is down-to-earth. She respects herself and although is sometimes afraid to, Chloe stands her ground on what her expectations are. She won't settle for less than what she deserves and this makes her a strong, honest lead.

Although this isn't technically YA (since Chloe is in college), I do believe many of those who like that genre will really like this book. The reason being that Chloe is still young, she experiences many things for the first time like heartbreak, losing a best friend, gaining another and overall simply growing into her own skin. Definitely recommended!

Rating: 1 2 3 4 4.5 5

Waiting on Wednesday:

"Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill from BreakingTheSpine which serves to highlight the books we are most looking forward to being released. Here is my pick for this week:

Title: Smart Girls Get What They Want

Author: Sarah Strohmeyer

Release Day: June 26th 2012

Summary: (goodreads) Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren’t the most popular girls in school, they aren’t too worried. They know their real lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents)! But when an unexpected event shows them they’re missing out on the full high school experience, it’s time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge—and they will totally rock it. 

Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she’ll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but always stayed behind the scenes—until now.

These friends are determined to show that smart girls get what they want—but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for...

My Thoughts: This has a nice premise to it and I think I will really like this novel overall, but I'm not sure I will be able to get past the names. Silly, I know. But all three of these character names are going to be a little difficult to "voice" out properly while I am reading? I don't know how to explain it, but I will probably end up going "Gi(blah) said to (blah) that Ne(blah)" and so on.

Anyway, that is beside the point. Interesting plot with some pretty smart chicks out for the complete well-rounded high school experience. I wonder how they will do?