Monthly Recap: July

This month SUCKED. Seriously. I felt like I didn't get any reading done, and I wasn't wrong. Terrible suckiness. But, now I'm unemployed again, so at least I have time to read again.

I read

And the best read was definitely Pushing the Limits!

By the Pale Moonlight by Jennifer Hendren

By the Pale Moonlight
by Jennifer Hendren

Published: November 2nd 2011
( first publ. October 17th 2011 )
Publisher: Barnes and Noble
Format: Ebook
Pages: 310
Series: Moonlight Series
Source: From the author for
review
Amazon

Makenna Wilhelm knows all of her friends have their quirks, but when Ty shows up naked in her yard one morning, she finds it beyond weird. Stranger still are the deep gashes across Ty’s chest and his sudden ability to hear and smell things that no human should.

During a moonlit night, Ty’s secret is revealed. He’s no longer the boy she’s crushed on forever, but rather a werewolf with one serious aversion for all things silver. Makenna is left wondering if he’s to blame for the recent death of one of their classmates, the apparent victim of an animal attack.

With the help of Melanie, the dead girl’s friend, they manage to shed doubt on Ty’s guilt only to discover Makenna was the intended prey. Even worse, she’s still a target.

In a race against the full moon, the trio struggles to find who murdered the young woman. However, without a way to cure Ty, they have no way of knowing who poses the greater threat: Ty or the unknown enemy.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
This book really brought up some mixed feelings. I definitely wanted to love this, since I fell in love with both the cover and synopsis. And like in any book, there were lots of pros and cons.
Pros, like I mentioned, awesome cover and synopsis. But cons won the race this time. Because in order for me to enjoy this the book there should be some serious editing done.

First of all, it was really hard to keep up with the story! It felt like the characters were just running around, without any clear goal or even a purpose.
For example: Like mentioned in synopsis, it's believed that Makenna was the intended prey and she's still a target. And in this scene I was pretty much like "R U SERIOUS?". Because they base their assumption on the fact the dead girl was wearing Makenna's coat while being attacked. I mean, seriously? That's all you got? The dead girl stole Makenna's coat and was wearing it when attacked, but that's it! Oh, and both girls' hair was remotely same color. But.. Werewolves have pretty great sense of smelling, right?
So that really wouldn't have been enough evidence for me, sorry.

Then there's running around with dog whistle. You heard me right. Like in the synopsis, you would think they would get some silver to reveal the werewolf. If not silver, maybe something else badass werewolves can't stand. But no, they use a freaking dog whistle. And there wasn't even an explanation why and how and when they came up with the plan to use the dog whistle. It was more like "hey look, it's pretty awesome I happen to have a dog whistle in my pocket, let's hunt werewolves with it!". There was lot of that going around, just coming up to conclusion without any kind of reason, so it really was quite hard to keep up with.

This is the last example, I promise. Makenna found out the werewolf attacking "the dead girl" was actually black. So of course she blames the "bad guy" of the school. Because he's the only guy with black hair in your school or in the town?! And she just decided the werewolf's fur color is based on the person's hair color. You've seen one werewolf, so again, little too little evidence?!
And why would "the bad boy" attack Makenna? Well, two years earlier he asked her out, and she said no. Can you imagine that?! And it's so hard for the bad boys to get girls, so of course he still holds a grudge over her! w00000t..?
Okay now I seriously need to change the subject because my head starts to hurt.

I don't have much to say about the characters over all. They were pretty one-dimensional. They were lots of going with Makenna and Ty and their friends, but nothing was really explained. There was very little background about anyone, so it was pretty hard to feel connected. I really didn't care what happened to them, 'cause I didn't feel close to them.

Makenna was pretty much the only character I occasionally had some feeling for. Though that was mostly me going crazy because I was so annoyed with her.
She really isn't likable main character, believe me. She's really superficial and she hangs out with friends who bully everyone else. She has a boyfriend, who is a douche, sleeps with everyone else and is constantly trying to get to Makenna's pants. Yet Makenna dreams about her best friend, Ty, all the time. And when ever they see, she gribs Ty's shirt and hugs him. If I was dating Makenna, I would probably have a problem with her and Ty's hugging. And the mr. Douche obviously knows there's something going on, because he keeps making comments about Ty. Though the background of this is never revealed, so reader's just have to guess why mr. Douche's so pissed off. Like, okay, I know he's pissed to Ty and to Makenna and that's why keep making these douchy comments about Makenna sleeping with Ty, but what happened?! Why does he do that?? It's really frustarting!!
And even though Ty is probably meant to be the second main character, there really isn't much to say about him. He's just some dude, I really don't care.

There really was some huge potential, which why I hate to give a bad review. But when you just can't enjoy the writing, there's not much to do about it.
Though I must admit the huge cliffhanger made me curious. And pissed off. Because it was the only interesting part in the book, so it was too little too late.


My thanks to author for providing a review copy!

1 Year Blogoversary Giveaway

I've been book blogging for a whole year now, can you believe that?! When I first started blogging, I was pretty sure I would lose interest over the time (because that happens a lot, I have a goldfish brain). But I didn't, and I'm so proud of myself now!

And to celebrate that, I'm going to be hosting a giveaway! This competition will be open worldwide, as long as Book Depository delivers to your area :)

The winner may pick any number of books up to $25 from Book Depository!

To enter, simply fill in the Rafflecopter form!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There will be one winner chosen.
Winner has 72 hours to reply my email, or there will be a new winner chosen.
The giveaway will end on August 12th at 12:01 AM.

Good luck!

Teaser Tuesdays #27

By Should Be Reading!

He threw a quick glance over his shoulder. Melanie sat staring intently at the colored screen, her back to us.

He bent over me and brushed the hair away from my face before pressing his warm lips against my forehead. With one last check on Melanie, they closed over mine in a gentle kiss.

"I could get used to having you here," he whispered.



By the Pale Moonlight by Jennifer Hendren

T

Musing Mondays #25

By Should Be Reading!

This week's musing asks…

Do you read magazines? If so, which ones? If not, why not?

Not so much. There's few magazines I "read", meaning mostly look pictures ;D

I mostly read knitting and sewing magazines, also occasionally browse through some magazines about cooking and decorating.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits
by Katie McGarry

Published: July 31st 2012
( first published July 25th 2012 )
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Ebook
Pages: 409
Series: -
Source: From NetGalley for
review
Amazon |
Book Depository

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise."
Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that - did you? It was done to you?"
No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

SO WRONG FOR EACH OTHER ... AND YET SO RIGHT.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smokinghot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

*MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS*
When I first saw the cover, I just.. fell in love. It's obviously steamy, but there's also something unique in it. It just got that something, the "IT" factor that makes you want to read the book immediately.
And after I finished the book, all I could think was.. Finally! It's been so long when I last read a book that made me ball my eyes out! This definitely did the trick. Though, unfortunately when I was finishing this, I was also doing my make-up for work, so I had to fix it like three times. But man, it was so worth it!

At first, when I started reading the book, I was little scared. Because I was pretty sure this was going to be one of those stories where bad boy gets the good girl and bad boy turns good birl I mean boy, you know the usual story!
So when I noticed this was something completely different, I was over the moon. Yes, there is a bad boy, Noah. Or that's how it seems from the outside. And there's a good girl. Or a girl who used to be The Good Girl of the school, but after Echo's disappearance, everything changed for her.
Now there's just two broken people who seek comfort, and find it from the least expected.

What I love the most in this book is.. emotions. And how the author managed to make them so real. You get to cry, hate, love and laugh throughout the book and it's just amazing. And even though, or maybe because, the story is so filled with emotions, it's believable, realistic. As an author, Katie McGarry is like a puppet master, controlling reader's emotions through amazing scenes. That is something truly unique.

Through this book, you'll get to know what it's like to be a girl, who's life has fallen apart. You'll get to feel her sorrow for losing her family. Hate and jealousy for his father marrying her baby sitter. And you'll get to know what it's like to be the bad boy. When people know you as a troublemaker and girl-user, but when you're actually a boy, who lost his family and just wants to survive.
If you want true emotions, read this.


HUGE thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for providing a review copy!

Waiting on Wednesday #29

Hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Expected publication
October 23rd 2012


Fates unfurl in the gripping conclusion to the "New York Times" bestselling Hush, Hush saga.

Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen Angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean that they will always be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him.

And yet their biggest challenge lies ahead. Can their love survive a seemingly insurmountable divide?

The lines are drawn, but it's unclear which sides have been taken. And in the end, will there be enough trust left to rebuild what has been broken?

I wasn't a huge fan of the book #3, but of course I have to read this!

There is a saying..

.. in Finland. It goes something like "The shoemaker's children go barefoot" and in my case it means that every day I fix other people's computers, but mine is crap.
So I wiped everything clean and trying to put everything together now, so that's the reason for me being so quiet!
But no worries, I'm starting my holiday next Friday, then I'll have more time to fight with my computer and update my blog :)

Shut Up Giveaway has some winners!

We have some winners!



Winners were chosen with Random.org, and with winning numbers 46, 6, 48 and 24 the winners are..


Laura J. (paperback),

Laura M. (paperback),

Ashley S. (signed bookmark)

and Katrina (signed bookmark)!

Anne will email you soon, congratulations! :)

Thanks to all the participants!

Chit•Chat with Caro (The Book Rogue)

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 another guest, so welcome, Caro!

Click here to visit her blog!

Tell us who you are!

I'm Carolin [plz don't address me with my full given name, ever], a 22 year old book blogger from Germany. Currently still in college, wanting to become a literature translator. We'll see how that goes, but I hope that one day my name will be on books - altough maybe only on the inside. ;)

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

I started blogging at the begining of the year (2012), due to the simple fact that I was reading in English and a lot YA, and had just no one to talk to about it.
Well, I kinda wanted to try out blogging anyway, but it would've never ever worked as some kind of diary. So I needed a topic, and on Christmas 2011 frustration about non-comunication got to me, so I started my own book blog.
And since I feel a lot more comfortable with the English language, that's what I chose (you can reach more ppl, too!) to blog in.

Favorite and least favorite things about blogging?

Finding an endless flow of new titles I wanna read. That's as awesome as it is frustrating. x)
Another favorite is getting to know a lot of new people, especially with the same interests. Then meeting authors, maybe getting in touch with publishers over the years. That can only help my cause, right?
Last of the least favorite things: thoughtless comments, either because they have nothing to do with the post, or because they're just copy-pasted for... I don't even know why ppl do that!

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

Fave Male Protagonist: This isn't easy, really not easy. But I'll be going with Zachariah from Raine Thomas's Firstborn trilogy until further notice. His persoanlity is just so... wow, so is his life's story. Worst Male Protagonist: Edward from Twilight by Stephanie Meyer [although I am being a little influenced by Robert Pattinson here], Damen from The Immortals by Alyson Noel, and I am betting on Daniel from the Fallen series by Lauren Kate although I only read the first installment so far. You could say they share rank 3, coz it's the same cookie-cutter approach for all of them.

Fave Female Protagonist: Suzume/Rin/Yue [yes, her name changes like that] from Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott. You know Memoirs of a Geisha? This is like the YA-mystical version of it. Absolutely loved it, and simply the changes she went through, what symbolizes her name... She's my fave up til now. Worst Female Protagonist: You don't want me going into that... There's just so many heroines lacking depth despite having installment over installment to develop a unique personality, but simply don't. So yeah, not going there, I am sure you'll come up with enough yourself.

Fave Male Villain: Jonathan Morgenstern from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. I think it's so awesome that he actually makes sense in his own twisted way, and look so good doing it. I'm sure there are more like him, maybe even better, but I can't think of anyone right now. Worst Male Villain: Nicholas from the Chronicles of Blood and Stone tilogy by Robert Newcomb. Just too creepy for comfort, and... I don't know, just no.

Fave Female Villain: Huan/Hrun from the Age of the Five triloy by Trudi Canavan. She was THE vicious goddess through and through, you might only argue the point that there was no real jealousy mixed into her hatred for the female protagonist, which does strike one as a little odd since Huan is the goddess of love/fertility after all.
Worst Female Villain: Stacia from The Immortals by Alyson Noel. She's just so... stereotypical jealous because the good-hearted, non-cheerleading girl gets the hot guy instead of her. Right now, I can't think of any more characters like her, but I am sure there are more. So feel free to fill in some blanks for me.

Vampire, werewolf, or something else?

a Minion of Day and Knight [really badass bat-winged warriors, created by Robert Newcomb], but a werewolf would also be nice, as long as I actually get a fluffy fur coat [not those versions from Harry Potter or Underworld, urghs]

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

I'd be Bella so I could tell Jake to kick Edward's butt into next week before settling in with Emily and the pack.
Just kidding! Well, maybe not so much, but Bella is definitively not the first pick. Really, I'd want to be Isabelle from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. She's simply my ideal female character, in all aspects like I would conjure up my heroine to be. Of course there are also a couple of others I'd like to slip into, just to test the powers, the boundaries... but I guess we all kind of feel this way, right?

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

Hmm... Personally, I'm not really embarrassed about it, but I guess most ppl would be, so I'm saying the 2004 Cinderella Story starring Hilary Duff. This is probably the most girlish thing about me, and I think it's the most pink I own. Other than that, most people consider it embarrassing to watch anime at my age, but I do so and I enjoy it.

Your favorite book of all times and why?

Uhm... Really not sure about this. My best read in 2012 so far was Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, and it is definitvely one of my all time favorites, with high potential for staying THE ONE favorite book for the rest of my reading life. I highly recommend all of you to pick it up! Like, now.
However, The Thief Lord and the Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke were my first YA fantasy novels, and I would read them any time over again.

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

• Egypt is the only country I've been on vacation more than twice AND STILL want to go back there again [the US doesn't count, coz I lived there for a year, so of course I wanna go back!]
• I'm engaged. Well, at least for the authorities. Privately, I kinda got an engagement tattoo...
• When I am finally getting married, I am keeping my last name, because it's really special.
• I love musicals. I'll be seeing Dance of the Vampires in a few weeks. So excited!
• I've been to a concert in a wheel chair, and it was awesome. Me and the boys had fun with that, and the concert was worth about double than what we paid.

Your favorite...

• .. ice cream?
  Tiramisu, and in a lack of that I go for chocolate


• .. author?
  Hmm... There are a lot of authors with good writing styles out there, and they are all good for another reason. But if I had to pick out the most striking style, it'd be Tahereh Mafi. If you haven't read Shatter Me yet, you'd better start ordering now.


• .. smell?
  Smoke from blown out candles or matches, I even like gasoline. Essence of roses is nice too - makes a lot of people turn tail and flee, among them my mom and grandma. Loved to open that tiny bottle we had for decoration to annoy them when I was little. Muha.


• .. color?
  Black and red, even more so in combination


• .. movie?
  Gladiator


• .. quote?
  From Friedrich Nietzsche
  
  "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."

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

Dear Mind Readers ;),
it is awesome of you to step by here today, thank you. I hope that many of you are very faithful readers of Monaliz', which I am thankful for once again, but if you happen to be even the slightest bit able to pull yourself off this blog, then maybe you might want to check out my giveaway: http://the-book-rogue.de/a-new-beginning-giveaway/ ;)
But that's already gonna be it from the self-promo corner, and I'm turning back to more important matters: the question if you can actually read minds - or if you just mind reading? o.O Do I really want to go into this discussion with you? Maybe not, but tell me the truth anyway! And in case any of you answer yes, please leave me a way to contact you to fill out my next questionnaire/interrogation for me.
Thank you very much! :)
D

Thank you Caro for stopping by!

And I have to spill.. I watch 2004 Cinderella Story starring Hilary Duff all the time. Well, actually, I watch movies with Hillary Duff all the time.. I have all the Lizzie McGuire dvds. Don't tell anyone ;D
And do I read minds.. Guess you'll never know. Though you better only think nice things, just in case ;)
Again, thanks for stopping by! And if you, my dear reader, would like to be interviewed, email me zaturna [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com!