Top Ten Tuesday - 135

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish for bloggers who like to make lists about books.

Top Ten Books That Were Hard To Read

1. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
This book was SO LONG. And the plot barely moved forward. It took me forever to read. I like this series but Martin is in desperate need of a strong-armed editor.

2. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
This book was so sad because it's a memoir of the author's life in Apartheid South Africa. He talks about boiling cow's blood to eat, so you know this was tough to get through.

3. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
I honestly think I was too young to understand and appreciate this book. It was assigned as summer reading for incoming 10th graders and I just hated it.

4. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Even though Heart of Darkness is a classic, I found it to be so boring. I actually fell asleep reading it a few times which is quite unlike me.

5. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
This book is so long and wordy and completely unlike the amazing Night Film by the same author. By the end, I was skimming pages.

6. Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
While I liked this book, it was difficult to read. The main character is subject to horrible emotional and physical bullying while in high school. I couldn't believe (fictional) teenagers could be so cruel.

That's all I can come up with for now! What books did you find difficult to read?

Top Ten Tuesday - 134

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish for bloggers who like to make lists about books.

 

 

 Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List

1. Young Money by Kevin Roose - I keep looking for this at my library because I love Kevin Roose's first book. I'm not a big fan of non-fiction but I know I will enjoy anything he writes.

2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth - I'm actually in the middle of reading this right now but I need to finish it!

3. Famous Last Words by Katie Alender - This was a WOW pick a few weeks ago and it will be released in about a week!

4. On the Fence by Kasie West - Been looking forward to this new book since reading The Distance Between Us.

5. Rebel Nation by Shaunta Grimes - This is sitting on my bookshelf, just got to get around to reading it!

6. Dualed by Elsie Chapman - see above :)

7. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling - Still haven't read this! I swear I will get to it eventually.

8. Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes - love this series and can't wait to read the third book when it's released in December.

9. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray - Really enjoy this author and can't wait to see what she comes up with in her newest novel.

10. Pawn by Aimee Carter - I received this book in the mail so I just need to get around to reading it!

10.

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Summary:
An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I was pretty excited for The Murder Complex but ended up being disappointed in it.

It's funny looking back on my Waiting on Wednesday post for this book and how even back then I said that I didn't know what the "murder complex" was. That confusion continued through the first half of the book in which it was never explained! That was frustrating.

I also didn't like the insta-love between Meadow and Zephyr. It's bad in some books but it was especially bad here. I just don't get the appeal of having two characters literally fall in love after seeing each a few times.

A lot of people on GoodReads say this book is "anti-science" and I guess I would agree if you want to analyze the book but that sentiment isn't explicitly written anywhere.

Honestly, this just wasn't the book for me. I won't be continuing the series.

Rating: 4 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library

2014/Greenwillow Books/398 pages.

Waiting on Wednesday - 191

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at http://breakingthespine.BlogSpot.com"> Breaking the Spine
for bloggers and readers to get excited about new books.
All the Rage by Courtney Summers

In her hardcover debut, from the author of Cracked Up To Be and This is Not a Test, comes a powerful new young adult novel.　

The sheriff’s son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy’s only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn’t speak up. Nobody believed her the first time—and they certainly won’t now—but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.　

With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women after an act of sexual violence, forcing us to ask ourselves: In a culture that refuses to protect its young girls, how can they survive? (from GoodReads)

I love Courtney Summers so I know this will be great. It's about such an important topic too. All the Rage will be released April 14, 2015.

Top Ten Tuesday - 133

Top Ten Tuesday was started by The Broke and the Bookish for bloggers who like to make lists about books.

Top Ten Authors I've Only Read One Book From & Need to Read More

1. Kasie West - I've heard such good things about all of her books and I really need to read On the Fence.

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald - I've only read The Great Gatsby and I know his other books are just as good.

3. Livia Blackburne - I just finished her debut novel, Midnight Thief, which is why I haven't read anything else by her yet. Can't wait for the sequel though.

4. Jenny Han - This might not count because I read the first Summer book but never finished it. But after reading To All The Boys I've Loved Before I think she's a fantastic writer.

5. Megan Shepherd - Still need to read the sequel to The Madman's Daughter

6. Kevin Roose - I was just looking in the library for his newest book but they didn't have it. It's about the culture of banking on Wall Street.

7. Megan McCafferty - If you can believe it the only book I've read by Megan McCafferty is Bumped. Must change that!

8. April Lindner - Loved reading Jane and have yet to read her other novels.

9. Daisy Whitney - Still need to read the sequel to The Mockingbirds.

10. Stacey Jay - So many of her books are on my To Read list but I've only read You Are So Undead to Me.

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Summary:
In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the word in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments!(from GoodReads)

Review:
I finally finished this book! It's been sitting on my nightstand since the beginning of summer, with only about a hundred pages left. Oops. I guess that's sort of an indication of how I felt about City of Heavenly Fire: I could take it or leave it.

Honestly, and I hate to say this because I really do love the Shadowhunter world, this series should have just been a trilogy. Looking back on all six books, the first three are really good and the last three are just so-so. I liked them and enjoyed them, but were they really necessary? I think Clare would have been better spent putting time into the upcoming Dark Artifices series, which I am actually excited about. I should have Shadowhunter fatigue, especially after the Infernal Devices too, but something about forbidden love just gets me.

Anyway, City of Heavenly Fire just isn't that exciting, quite unlike what you expect from a conclusion. If you do venture into this world, you would be fine to just stick to the first three. Or go straight to Clockwork Angel, because I think the Infernal Devices are a hundred times better.

Rating: 6 out of 10.
FTC: bought

2014/Margaret K. McElderry/725 pages.

Waiting on Wednesday - 190

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine for bloggers and readers to get excited about new books.

Loop by Karen Akins

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future. (from GoodReads)

Time travel is always fun! Hopefully it's not that confusing. Loop will be released October 21, 2014.

Top Ten Tuesday - 132

Top Ten Tuesday was started by http://brokeandbookish.com"> The Broke and the Bookish
for bloggers who like to make lists about books.
Top Ten Underrated Contemporary YA Novels

1. Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholt
Lauren Barnholdt is pretty popular but I really enjoyed this novel. It's about cheating boyfriends but you can really relate to the characters even when they make mistakes.

2. The Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook
I read this pretty recently and loved the idea about finding your birth mother. Obviously things don't always have fairy-tale endings but the story overall is hopeful.

3. If He Had Been With Me by Lauren Nowlin
I've heard very few people talk about this novel and I loved it! Everyone check it out! It's a little sad but worth it.

4. Amplified by Tara Kelly
This is a little older but still great for fans of music.

5. The Language Inside by Holly Thompson
I'm not usually a fan of novels written in verse but The Language Inside works really well.

6. If I Lie by Corrine Jackson
This was on some other lists and I obviously agree with its inclusion. It's amazing and no one has read it! What's up with that?

7. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Morgan Matson is pretty popular but I didn't even know about this novel until it was released! It's definitely not as good as her previous books but still worth the read.

8. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
When is the sequel being released?!? I seriously can't wait. I know everyone loves that summertime series by Jenny Han but everyone needs to read this too.

9. Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald
An older book but I really enjoyed it and think those that missed it the first time around should check it out now.

10. What We Keep is Not Always What Will Stay by Amanda Cockrell
I'm in love with this book and it's not all because of the awesome title. It's funny, thought-provoking and why has no one read it?

Waiting on Wednesday - 189

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine for readers and bloggers to see what new books are going to be released soon.

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

Hollywood history, mystery, murder, mayhem, and delicious romance collide in this unputdownable thriller from master storyteller Katie Alender.

Willa is freaking out. It seems like she's seeing things. Like a dead body in her swimming pool. Frantic messages on her walls. A reflection that is not her own. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- is trying to send her a message.

Meanwhile, a killer is stalking Los Angeles -- a killer who reenacts famous movie murder scenes. Could Willa's strange visions have to do with these unsolved murders? Or is she going crazy? And who can she confide in? There's Marnie, her new friend who may not be totally trustworthy. And there's Reed, who's ridiculously handsome and seems to get Willa. There's also Wyatt, who's super smart but unhealthily obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.

All Willa knows is, she has to confront the possible-ghost in her house, or she just might lose her mind . . . or her life.

Acclaimed author Katie Alender puts an unforgettable twist on this spine-chilling tale of murder, mystery, mayhem -- and the movies. (from GoodReads)

I love thrillers and this sounds so fascinating - especially the part with the famous movie murder scenes. Famous Last Words will be released September 30, 2014.