Monthly Recap: May

WTH, another month is over?! Where the hell does the time go?! Oh well. I didn't do so good this month, but I did read few pretty great books (again) :)

I read

Teaser Tuesdays #25

By Should Be Reading!

I decide to do what I alway do when I'm not sure what's going on:

I act like everyone else.

I let my head drop and close my eyes.

My heart pounds as the Dauntless's footsteps come closer, and closer, squeaking on the marble floors.

I bite my tongue to suppress a cry of pain as one of them steps on my hand.

Insurgent (Divergent Trilogy #2) by Veronica Roth

The Stubborn Dead by Natasha Hoar

The Stubborn Dead
by Natasha Hoar

Published: January 23rd 2012
Publisher: Carina Press
Format: Ebook
Pages: 72
Series: Lost Souls #1
Source: From NetGalley for review
Amazon |

Rachel Miller thought her next job was a run-of-the-mill haunting.

As a member of the Order of Rescue Mediums it's her duty to release trapped spirits from the earthly realm. But when called to client Sylvia Elkeles's house, she finds a wraith who doesn't act like he should.

The Order considers the wraith an extreme threat and Rachel may be forced to use a barbaric ritual to free him — a ritual that comes with a heavy personal price.

If she fails to humanely release the wraith, she'll have her supernatural abilities bound.

When Janus Ostara — local supernatural mob boss — shows up demanding her attention, and Sylvia keeps secrets that may place Rachel in mortal danger, she doesn't need her abilities to know something darkly sinister is at play.

Between uncovering Sylvia's disturbing motives, and avoiding Janus, Rachel has enough on her hands without dealing with a wraith who may not realize he's supposed to be dead...

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This is one of those entertaining and actionfilled stories. But man, was it short! I didn't realize it until I was finished and expected to see what happens with Kit and Rachel (you know, some roooomance!), and OOPS!, it ended! Which was sad, since I was really getting into the story :/

And since it was so short, there really wasn't any time for any character development or even to get deeper with the plot. Which really was unfortunate, since I was finally getting some contact with Rachel.

There's few glimpses about Rachel's past and the world around her. We get to find out that she's part of The Order, and her mum is The Boss. And we get to meet Janus, a mob boss, and few of Rachel's clients.
But it still felt like the novella was only length of one chapter. The information we gather is pretty small amount and nothing drastic is really revealed. Though there is some mysteries that leaves you craving for more.

And yes, it left me definitely craving for more, since when I finally got into story, it ended. So hopefully the second part will be a whole book, since there really is potential with Rachel :)

My thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press!

Musing Mondays #23

By Should Be Reading!

This week's musing asks…

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

Nah, I don't do that kind of things :D Usually I just keep reading and try to use the context to understand the word.

Sometimes this goes to pooper, meaning I think I know what it means, but it actually means the complete opposite. This happened once, otherwise I've managed to understand weird words pretty well.

And since English isn't the language I usually speak, I find this great way to learn new words :)

TBR Intervention #2

Since I tend to be quite unorganized with my TBR- pile, I thought this kind of intervention was just the thing for me!

Hosted by Books4Juliet, Whatever You Can Still Betray & Refracted Light!


TBR Intervention

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it.

Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).

2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer).

Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week (or two weeks).

1. THE BOOKS I COMMITTED TO READ:

I did it, I did it! I can't believe it, but I actually read this!
And liked it, you can read my review here!















2. THE BOOK I COMMIT TO READ THIS WEEK:



I'll at least try to read these.. Since I just finished Divergent, of course I had to get a copy of Insurgent! And that's what I'll be doing this night.

Fifty Shades of Grey is something I'm a little iffy about, since I've heard it's a dirrrty book, and my prudeness doesn't like that kind of books.. But I'm going to try!

And Dirty Blood is something I've meant to read for ages, just haven't got a chance! But I'll try now :)

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent
by Veronica Roth

Published: May 3rd 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 487
Series: Divergent #1
Source: Borrowed from library
Amazon |
Book Depository

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life.

Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite.

To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage.

Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger.

Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
Finally! It only took me ages to read this, but now I finally made it! And I wasn't disappointed.
I do get the the hype around this book, even though this isn't that different from all the other dystopian books. So there's not that much originality, but at least it's an entertaining package!

Beatrice turns sixteen, which means she has to choose between five factions, and like said before, each faction represents a virtue (Honesty, selflessness, intelligence, bravery, peacefulness). After some complications, she decides to choose Dauntless, who are the brave ones.
This did confuse me a little. Like, the selfless ones can also be honest and peaceful. And they should want to be those things. So how come there's so small amount of divergents? Or did I miss something? Maybe I did, but luckily this didn't bother me that much.

Anyhow, back to business. So, Beatrice, aka. Tris becomes Dauntles. And their "brave" means actually stupid brave, meaning jumping from moving things and high places. Doing everything that can get yourself killed! Why wouldn't that be fun..
There Tris meets Four, who is her instructor. And finally they fell in love. But then everything goes down the hill, since of course there's always a bad guy, who wants to rule the kingdom.

I have to admit that Tris isn't my favorite main character of all time. There's must something about her that's a little off. It's really hard to explain! I just didn't always like her, guess that's the problem. But, I still didn't hate her and in some occasions I thought she was pretty kick ass. Maybe just little too heartless sometimes.

Then there's Four. And the romance. Of course, I loved it! Especially when Tris is in trouble and Four, the knight in shining armour, runs to her help. Mmmmmmm, love it! Though there could have been more of that "he loves me- no, he hates me- no, loves - hates - etc.", but I'm happy there was even little of it.
There was huge, I mean gigantic, amount of action. I would've trade some of it to romance in a minute, because I just felt dizzy! There was no relaxed moments, which was quite exhausting. Though all the action guaranteed I couldn't put the book down.
And that's why I need to start reading Insurgent ASAP. So don't worry, you know what I'll be doing if it gets quiet around here!

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher

Published: October 18th 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Series: -
Source: Borrowed from library
Amazon |
Book Depository

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch.

Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them.

If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
In the beginning we beet Clay. Clay seems like a sweet guy who had a crush on Hannah, a girl who killed herself. But before her suicide she recorded 13 tapes; tapes, that will tell you why she killed herself.

Really love the sound of it, right? I did, so I just couldn't wait to read it! I had just read Hate List and Speak and was expecting something as amazing!

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't worth the hype. I was waiting for something huge, a great book dealing with difficult subject with some suspence. But that really wasn't what I got.

First of all, there's two POVs; Clays, and Hannah reading her tapes. It was really confusing! It seems like a great idea, but these two were mixed so completely it was hard to know who's POV I was reading. So sometimes it took me two pages before I realized I was reading Hannah's POV, not Clays! And had to read it all over again. That was quite annoying. But otherwise the writing was okay.

What can I say about the characters.. Well, Clay really is a sweet boy, who had a crush on Hannah. And that was actually his only mistake. Having a crush on her, I mean.
Because of that, he becomes one of Hannah's victims. You might think that since he's on the tapes, he must have done something horrible to Hannah, right? Well, not exactly. So I just feel bad for the poor boy! But at least Clay's character was believable and likable.

But Hannah.. Oh, Hannah. I was waiting this tortured soul, a depressed teenager who had horrible life and that's why she ended it. But.. Yeah, it just didn't work!
I know, this book was suppose to be about how everyone should think about their actions because they might effect other people. But I didn't learn that kind of lesson from the book. All I learned was that Hannah really is a b*tch!
First she kills herself because she feels like it. But that wasn't enough! She records tapes where she blames other people for her own actions. Well, at least she acts like a stupid teenager! So guess that part is actually believable.
She's one of those weak characters who just likes to blame other people all the time. And now she haunts them from the grave! How wrong is that. Yeah, there was like two people who actually deserved to receive the tapes and who actually did something wrong. All the others were stuff like "omg, he said my ass is the best looking evö, i so wanna die now!". WTH?
Sure, everyone's different, but if that is your biggest problem..
And who is she to blame anyone else, when she did nothing when she should've? Like witnessing a rape and doing nothing. She's just acting all passive bystander, who can do nothing. And that is why I hate her so much. Because I don't like people who act like victim all the time. They complain and then.. do nothing. Hello, ever heard of something like "the police"??

When I read the book, tape by tape, I was waiting for some huge revelation. I mean, since she killed herself, there must be a reason. Something had to be the last straw that finally made her decide "today I'm going to kill myself". If that's something you'd like to read about, don't read this book. Seriously. Because you wait and you wait, but you'll never get the huge revelation.
Also, if you're one of those readers who like to cry because the book is so emotional, again, avoid this book. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't shed a tear. And believe me, I tried!
There was this one scene where Hannah was all devastated and crying and you know it's suppose to be all emotional and you're suppose to be crying, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't cry. Because it wasn't actually that sad scene, it was just silly girl making a fuss.

So, this really sounded like a great book, but really.. wasn't. I expected something awesome and meaningful, but it really wasn't believable. I did like Clay, so that's why I gave two cupcakes instead of just one.

Chit•Chat with Leah (The Pretty Good Gatsby)

Welcome to my new feature called


Chit•Chat!


What is Chit•Chat?

Well, it's me interviewing some fellow bloggers! :)

If you'd like to know more or like to participate,
JUST CLICK HERE!

It's time for my second victim -- I mean, guest! Welcome, Leah!

Click here to visit her blog!

Tell us who you are!

I'm Leah! I'm a soon-to-be 24 year-old living in the heart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bookseller by day, caped crusader by night~

How long have you been blogging? When and why did you decide to start blogging?

I've been blogging since 2001 (oh, hello livejournal!), but it wasn't until last August that I decided to focus solely on book reviews.
All throughout high school I was the editor of the school paper and continued in college. While other staff members would write articles about the up-coming basketball/football game, I chose to include music reviews.

After high school I wrote reviews for a website but, sadly, that came to an end a few years later when the site was bought by a larger company.
I put things on hold after that and it wasn't until I took a job as a bookseller that I decided to get back into it.

Favorite and least favorite things about blogging?

My least favorite is definitely the competitive feeling. I don't want blogging to feel like a contest. We’re here to share our love of reading, not boast about the number of books you can read in a week.

My favorite aspect is being able to interact with super cool authors and discuss books with bloggers who love them just as much as I do.

Who is your favorite and least favorite literary villain and protagonist, and why?

He wasn’t exactly the main character, but Atticus Finch is, hands down, the greatest literary character of all time. OF ALL TIME.

My Favorite Villain Award goes to The Crooked Man from The Book of Lost Things/any and every incarnation/reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin. He’s such a wonderfully creepy character and I think he’s great.

As far as least favorites go… I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flak for this, but Jane Eyre. I just couldn’t, guys. I was assigned the book in school when I was 11 and I couldn’t get through it. Friends that read it once we got a little older absolutely love it and SO many people I know practically worship that book. I’ve been debating whether or not to give it another shot.
I’m a huge fan of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series and in one of the books, the main character actually goes into the novel. Since then I’ve been a teensy bit interesting in revisiting the original work.

Least favorite villain? Oh man. Does a real person count? One of my biggest interests is Tsarist Russia, particularly the fall of the Romanovs and one cannot discuss that era without mentioning Rasputin. If a book is set during 1917 or deals with the Romanovs in any way, I NEED to read it.

Vampire, werewolf, or something else?

Hippogriff!

If you could be any book heroine, who would you be and why?

There are SO many I love, but the first one that came to mind was Enola Holmes. She’s Sherlock’s 14 year-old sister. ..does anything else need to be said? She’s awesome. Sherlock’s awesome. It’s an entire family of awesome.

What movie/book do you watch/read that you'd be embarrassed to admit? Spill!

HA! I’m not embarrassed, but my all-time favorite movie ever is The Road to El Dorado. Love, love, love it. I actually wore out THREE VHS tapes before finally getting it on DVD. I celebrate the anniversary of its release every year and watching it with me is awful: I recite the lines.

I guess I’m a bit of a masochist. I LOVE bad movies and my boyfriend and I host Bad Movie Nights. Some of my favorite awful movies are Rubber (a killer tire named Robert!), The Room, and Triassic Attack.

Your favorite book of all times and why?

Tuesday by David Weisner. There aren’t any words, but the book is breathtakingly beautiful.
A lot of my other favorites come from my childhood: The BFG, Redwall, anything by Diana Wynne Jones. Even now I love going back and revisiting these books. They’re just as wonderful as when I first read them.

Tell us 5 random, (non-bookish, if you wish) things about yourself!

• I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 1 ½! My nerdly tendencies started early.
• In 2008, I played Quidditch on an amateur team and we wound up going head-to-head against a pro team! Unfortunately, we lost, but we made it the farthest out of all the amateur teams (third place) and wound up in the city’s paper.
• I have a secret crush on ebola. And deadly viruses in general.
• Instead of getting sprinkles on my ice cream cones, I put Nerds on top. Yum!
• My boyfriend and I just got our first house! I spent all of last month moving in and now we’re finally settled.

Your favorite...

• .. place?
  Gettysburg. One of my majors in college dealt with history and the Civil War. It’s always been a passion of mine and my grandfather is to credit for that. Stepping onto the battlefields is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’d love to be a reenactor someday.


• .. author?
  Where to begin. Neil Gaiman, Christopher Moore, Michael Chabon, Brian Jacques, Roald Dahl, Steve Berry. I could list them all day.
  My ultimate favorite is Edgar Allan Poe. For my 21st birthday I visited his house and graves (yes, plural! He actually has two gravesites) and it was incredible. I actually own an original copy of one of his works!


• .. smell?
  Freshly cut grass. MMM.


• .. color?
  Grey! I’m also such a girly girl and adore pinks and purples.


• .. movie?
  The Road to El Dorado!


• .. quote?
  Tons. I have entire notebooks dedicated solely to favorite quotes. There’s a line from Dante’s Divine Comedy that has had a special place in my heart for years:
  
  "It was early morning still, the fair sun rising with the stars attending it as when Divine Love set those beautiful lights into motion at creation's dawn."

If you'd like to say something to my followers, go ahead! :)

Be gentle!

Thank you so much Leah, love your answers! :)

And congratulations on your new home, we're still trying to find our first one, but hopefully we'll be soon in a same situation! :) Aaaand I'll definitely have to check out The Book of Lost Things, since I'm so in love with Rumpelstiltskin. Especially with the one from Once Upon a Time ;)

Again, thanks for stopping by! And if you, my dear reader, would like to be interviewed, email me zaturna [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com!

Waiting on Wednesday #27

Hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Enshadowed (Nevermore #2) by Kelly Creagh

Expected publication August 28th 2012


Varen Nethers is trapped in a perilous dream world -- a treacherous and desolate realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

Isobel Lanley, plagued by strange visions and haunted by the nightmares of Varen's creation, is the only one who can save him.

Isobel knows that her only hope lies within a Baltimore cemetery.

There, in the early morning hours of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, a mysterious stranger known as the "Poe Toaster" will make his annual homage at the legendary poet's grave.

Only the Poe Toaster holds the key to the way between worlds.

But even greater dangers lie ahead for Isobel. An ancient evil, draped in veils of white, is watching, challenging her for Varen's affections.

When Isobel finally finds Varen, he is no longer the quiet and brooding boy who once captivated her, but a dark force, powerful and malevolent.

The Keeper by Jessica Crawford Vernold

The Keeper
by Jessica Crawford Vernold

Published: February 3rd 2011
Publisher: Jessica Crawford Vernold
Format: Ebook
Pages: 294
Series: -
Source: From the author for review
Amazon |
Book Depository

The Keeper is young adult paranormal romance set in old Rye Wilderness in Manatee County Florida.

Sixteen year old Kaylee Carmichael has had a rough year with the loss of her best friend in a horrible accident. Things don’t get any easier when her family relocates to southern Florida on an old plantation. She doesn’t make friends easily but she doesn’t need them; she has her horses,her family and her memories of Cassie. But when strange things start happening in the house and on the land and everyone (herself included) thinks she’s losing her mind, a friend may be exactly what she needs.

That’s what she finds in Zeke.

Zeke is golden and beautiful and everything Kaylee isn’t yet somehow he seems to be sent just for her; maybe even heaven sent.

As the two delve into the mysteries of the plantation and explore the paranormal, Kaylee can’t help falling for him, but Zeke is hiding a dark secret that could change everything. And things only get more complicated when another strange boy comes into the picture and takes a special interest in Kaylee.

What does he seem to know about her that she doesn’t?

One thing is clear, something evil is awry and Kaylee finds herself right in the middle of it. Even so, all she can think of is how she feels about Zeke. Could a boy so perfect love her back?

She doesn’t think so and she has no plans of finding out. When Zeke finally finds out the truth how will he react and how will he tell her what he’s been hiding?

Most importantly, can the two get to the bottom of the evil that has taken hold of the plantation and protect Kaylee and her family from danger or will this love story have a tragic ending?

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
As said, Kaylee's year has been really rough, since she's lost her best friend in a car accident she feels responsible for.
So her family packs their bags and moves to Florida. Into a creepy old house. Yay.
Everything's still quite crappy, but then she meets Zeke. Who isn't exactly what he looks like.
And after that, along comes Nick! They are absolute opposites, Zeke full of light and goodness, Nick the devilish bad boy. No surprise, we'll have some intriguing moments with lovetriangle and all the mysterious going around..

As said, Kaylee's year has been really rough, since she's lost her best friend in a car accident she feels responsible for. So her family packs their bags and moves to Florida. In a creepy old house. Yay. Everything's still quite crappy, but then she meets Zeke. Who isn't exactly what he looks like. And then along comes Nick! They are absolute opposites, Zeke full of light and goodness, Nick the devilish bad boy. No surprise, we'll have some intriguing moments with lovetriangle and all the mysteries going around!

First I was little confused, when the story mostly concentrated on horses. Basically nothing really happened before their move to Florida. But luckily things really starts going after that.
Kaylee goes to new school, where she meets Zeke. Blond guy who looks like he just dropped down from heaven. Just *swoon*! He's full of light and goodness and you just have to love him!
Which Kaylee does, nearly at first sight. I know, not a fan of "love-at-first-sight", but it didn't bother me.
Probably because I fell in love with Zeke too ;)

But since their relationship doesn't really get forward, Kaylee gets tempted when a dark and handsome guy named Nick walks up to her door. Another swoon!
He's the total opposite from Zeke. Just as Zeke is full of light and blond and stuff, Nick is full of darkness with dark appearance. He's all devil and physical and you just want to rip his clothes off.

Soon scary stuff starts happen. I mean scary. I had some trouble reading in occasions. Cause I'm such a wuss.
After these events we'll find out the truth behind everything. Just a hint, there might be some angels and demons involved..
And we'll also find out what or who really is The Keeper!

I absolutely loved this book! After the slow beginning things really sped up and when Zeke and Nick came to the picture, I couldn't get my hands away from this book!
I was quite happy with the ending, though there was some unfinished business. Which made me wonder.. When will the second book come out, or will there ever be one? Because I sure hope so!

Thank you so much Jessica for sharing your story! :) Hopefully we get to hear more about Kaylee!

TBR Intervention #1

Since I tend to be quite unorganized with my TBR- pile, I thought this kind of intervention was just the thing for me!

Hosted by Books4Juliet, Whatever You Can Still Betray & Refracted Light!


TBR Intervention

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it.

Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).

2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer).

Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week (or two weeks).

1. THE BOOKS I COMMITTED TO READ:

Well, since it's a new challenge, I haven't committed to anything this week ;)

2. THE BOOK I COMMIT TO READ THIS WEEK:

Okay, I haven't own this for six months, I've just borrowed it.. a couple times. And still haven't read it. I really suck.

But since Insurgent is out, this is perfect time to read this!

Plus, in my tbr- pile this is the book with highest rating, so I guess that's a great reason to check it out! :)

Goodreads

The Time Will Come #22

Hosted by Books for Company!

Die for Me (Revenants #1) by Amy Plum


In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life - and memories - behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art.

Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile.

As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant - an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray.

Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.