Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

This is SUCH a big face.
Why are these covers like this?

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge(GoodReads).


I have finished the Delirium series! Let's get right down to a review of Requiem by Lauren Oliver.

Originality: 3. At this point the series is well established and nothing new comes in, but I miss all the cool "history" excerpts from book one about the disease and society.
Absurdity: 7. YO A LOT of New England gets walked across. I felt like this was a bit insane, to be walking to Maine from Connecticut.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 4. OH MAN. So much goes unsaid in the love department. It made me crazy, since the cliffhanger in the last book (at least in my opinion) deserved action! Also I have had an epiphany about teen romances in books. Whether it is because I have a twin sister, or was exposed to Gilmore Girls at an impressionable age, I share literally EVERY EMOTION I ever have. Because of this I have trouble with characters who keep things secret.  The strong silent type- lets change this to the strong chatty type. Also, Julian 4-eva.
Level of Harry-Potterness: 4. Book two was my favorite, but I really liked Hana's POV here. Overall, I didn't find this read as lyrical as the first or second.

Stacking the Shelves: Vacation Style

I am pretty excited for this stacking the shelves... because it means that VACATION is ALMOST HERE.

[insert panic attack/ pre vacation eye twitch/ overwhelming excitment/ long to-do list here]

I am about to go on vacation for two weeks and and "stacking" my nook and bag with reading material.  Obviously I need a paperback from when they tell me to turn off electronics.  Over the next two weeks I will be in two counties via 7 plane rides, 3 ferries,  and 1 overnight bus ride (in Turkey no less)... if nothing else I have enough reading material and Jolly Ranchers packed to make it through.

The Battle for Arcanon Major: The Lost Dacom Files #1 by Alexandra May (via NetGalley)
“As daughter of our ruler I grew up in the crossfire of an ongoing war... All I’d ever wanted to be was a great warrior and ultimately lead my people into victorious battles."

With only a small army at her command Halika Dacome, a skilled warrior and daughter of the Elemental King, is ready to lead one final battle to save her planet. A battle against the savage, bloodthirsty Primords who want to extinguish the diminished race of Elementals once and for all.

But before battle commences her father is given an ultimatum from the enemy leader, Arfron Uhnok. If the king agrees, Halika Dacome must marry Arfron Uhnok to prevent further bloodshed. If the king disagrees they, as a race, will all perish.

Horrified by her fathers decision Halika Dacome leads her army onward regardless of the consequences. Because her heart belongs to another. A love that blossomed many years ago. A love that her father has forbidden.

Halika faces her toughest battle yet and learns that not all battles are those fought with a sword...
The Battle for Arcanon Major is an epic love story set against the backdrop of war and is the first Prequel to Elemental: The First --> I reviewed Elemental with some apprehension, but am still giving this prequel the chance to answer the 100 million questions Elemental left the reader with....

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder (via NetGalley)

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomaniacal King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confidant, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet: an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat. War is coming and Avry is alone.Unless she figures out how to do the impossible…again.

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia (via Mom who left a copy on her last visit)

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Waiting on Wednesday: Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Helllllllllo and happy Wednesday! This week for Waiting on Wednesday I am looking forward to Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan.
                                           

Stephen has been invisible for practically his whole life — because of a curse his grandfather, a powerful cursecaster, bestowed on Stephen’s mother before Stephen was born. So when Elizabeth moves to Stephen’s NYC apartment building from Minnesota, no one is more surprised than he is that she can see him. A budding romance ensues, and when Stephen confides in Elizabeth about his predicament, the two of them decide to dive headfirst into the secret world of cursecasters and spellseekers to figure out a way to break the curse. But things don’t go as planned, especially when Stephen’s grandfather arrives in town, taking his anger out on everyone he sees. In the end, Elizabeth and Stephen must decide how big of a sacrifice they’re willing to make for Stephen to become visible — because the answer could mean the difference between life and death. At least for Elizabeth. (GoodReads).

Magic, New York City, and co-authored by David Levithan. 'Nough said.

Review: Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. 

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. (GoodReads).

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray combines mystery, colonial history mythology, magic, Mexican food, and my favorite state- Rhode Island!!

Originality: 5. Witches and colonial history isn't exactly new, but I it was a solid paranormal fantasy choice.
Absurdity: 6.  I wish there had been more streamlining of the villain plot, which was making me crazy. The villain keeps erasing people's memories and the motion of the story kept restarting. Oye! Eye roll on this! Now, not to give anything away, when you get to the 'test tube baby' thing you will realize this score.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 7. Unrequited love between a witch and her power source? Check. PLUS points for Mateo who is a motor cycle-driving stud.
Level of Harry-Potter-ness: 4. I loved the first hundred pages but then the book stalled out a bit. I wish there had been more streamlining of the story esp. with the villain who keeps erasing people's memories and we keep starting over with the protagonist's knowledge. Oye, again! 

Which YA Series Is Your Next Hunger Games–Level Obsession?

Thank you Vulture once again for keeping us entertained:

Which YA Series Is Your Next Hunger Games–Level Obsession?

Head over to Vulture to give it a try... we all certainly did:

• Grad Student on Goosie Mama’s FB wall: MY personal favorite question was 

  
  

  about how  much I  wanted romance in my books.... I went with "Are you kidding right 

  
  

  now" and got myself to Delirium.  This is pretty funny.

  
  

  Grad Student: to clarify, I played with it again. I got Delirium. Again.

  
  

  Crazy Camper:  I had a hard time not getting Delirium too! Finally got to City of Bones and Maze Runner

  
  

  Goosie Mama: I GOT THE FAULT IN OUR STARS - John Green and I really are meant to be ... sigh!

  
  

  Grad Student: How many of these do you THINK I have read?

  
  

  Goosie Mama: That's not even a question ...

  
  

  Goosie Mama: clarification: ALL OF THEM

  
  

  Grad Student: TRUE STORY

Review: Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them (GoodReads).

Friends! I liked Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger. I was into the alternating POVS of Audra and Vane (Vane, get it, like weather vane!? Har har!). I am going to start a frat for male characters in books who I think would totally be friends (and with whom I would absolutely go to a mixer with). So far it includes: Vane, Cass from Anna Dressed in Blood, and Kaleb from the Hourglass series. These kids are totally going to rule campus.

Originality: 9! New myths right here people, get 'em while they're hot! I have a soft spot for Ariel, the sylph in the Theatre Illuminatee books, so I was ready to like this myth-making. The stuff about the temperaments of each wind was neat, and Messenger does a great job writing about the air and breezes and really evokes the windy, hot desert.

Absurdity: 7. Of course Vane finds the girl of his dreams AND his super powers.  'Cause that is how paranormal YA rolls.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 6. Forbidden romance between teens who control wind def counts. But do I love Vane's voice? Check. Since Vane's narration is funny but also seems to capture a teenage boy's perspective, I was into this romance.
Level of Harry Potterness: 5 This book was good, but did not stand out particularly as being writerly or poetic or moving in a larger sense. Nevertheless, it is better than a lot of fiction out there! Give it a go.

Waiting on Wednesday: This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

So I found out Saturday at the bar (where we were talking about books and complaining about the lack of spring weather in NYC) that a Jennifer E. Smith is a friend of a friend! I find this neat. I have been wanting to read one of her books, and so this week's Waiting on Wednesday is dedicated to This is What Happy Looks Like. I know it has come out, but my library is keeping me in suspense!

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? 

     
                                              PS. How cute is that French cover!?

Top Ten Tuesday: Inspirational Characters

On Sunday the ladies of YAF & WS had this email conversation: "Got any ideas of awesome characters that make you, in the words of Tom Cruise in Jerry MaGuire, make you want to be a better man?" AKA we are dedicating today's Top Ten Tuesday Rewind to Inspirational Characters. As always cheers to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting TTT!

Grad Student:

1. The teacher in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (and Paul Rudd playing him in the movie is only an added bonus. Teachers that make kids believe the are in fact smart are so important!)

2 and 3: Maddie and Julie from Code Name Verity. I am inspired by their friendship and their bravery. Cue the tears!:

“And this, even more wonderful and mysterious, is also true: when I read it, when I read what Julie's written, she is...whole and undamaged...Gloriously daft, drop-dead charming, full of bookish nonsense and foul language, brave and generous. She's right here. Afraid and exhausted, alone, but fighting.” 

Crazy Camper:

4. Liesel Meminger from The Book Thief, because in the face of Nazi oppression, she believes in the power of her words.

Goosie Mama:

5-6: I think you have to include Katniss Everdeen because she's a really strong female role model who is badass, but not at the expense of others. She's one tough, flawed cookie, but has a heart at the same time. I would actually couple her and Tris from Divergent/Insurgent in the same bucket.

7.: When I told Crazy Camper and Goosie Mama that I wanted to pick some great parents that are role models for happy homes, CC suggested "can we do the parents from Easy A? Because I loved them." GM says "YES EASY A IS THE BEST!: I agree with this over-application of capital letters and inclusion of movie-characters rather than book characters. We tots want to be adopted.

                                            

Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

I am late to the game, but I recently read The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter. And I spent the first 2/3rds making snarky comments in my head as I read. Unexpectedly, however, I ended up liking this book. (See the Harry Potter grade for why).

Every girl who had taken the test has died. Now it's Kate's turn. It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall. 

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess. (GoodReads).

Originality: 4. Oh man. A young girl doesn't know her own awesomeness and immortal boy with impeccable manners is  totally devoted to her safety sand happiness..... Bella and Edward alert! I have not read a lot of Greek myth spin offs, so at least some of this felt new, but I am not convinced it is original.
Absurdity: 9 Oh man (this is a second in a row, I know, but I said this out loud a lot while I was reading). I had fun poking holes in this story. From the "you have to dress like a princess, no jeans" moment on, I was skeptical.
Level of Paranormal Romance: 8. I kept thinking of Hades from Disney's Hercules . Not sexy.  Also Beauty and the Beast, since Kate moves to the castle to save a parental unit. Hades as blue and a slimeball --I can't get behind it. Beauty and the Beast I love. Even if Henry is perfectly nice and not beastly.....but on the topic of Henry, I couldn't see why Kate felt that she was sooooo infatuated with him...
Level of Harry Potterness: 3. This is a very basic read, but points go to the good twist at the end surprised me. I like when nothing is as it seems, and I didn't realize this book had it in it.

Divergent by Veronica Roth, the Film!

A little late to the game, I just read Insurgent and Divergent, as reviewed by Goosie Mama and Grad Student a year ago.  MAN were they right! THIS STORY IS COMPELLING AND AWESOME.

If any of you are behind like I was, this is a reminder to READ these books, especially with the casting of Divergent beginning!  Most importantly we now have a Four: Four running, Four mildly confused by a question (though I am not sure this has ever happened to him) and Four with a horse in a top hat? Thanks Downton Abbey for that one.

via

Waiting on Wednesday: Renegade Heart, Mystic City #2, Theo Lawrence

A city in flames. A trust betrayed. A perfect love destroyed.

Has Aria lost Hunter, her one true love?

Ever since rebellion broke out in Mystic City, pitting the ruling elite against the magic-wielding mystics, Aria has barely seen her boyfriend. Not surprising, since Hunter is the leader of the mystic uprising, and he'll do whatever it takes to win freedom for his people—even if that means using Aria.

But Aria is no one's pawn. She believes she can bring the two warring sides together, save the city, and win back the Hunter she fell in love with.

Before she can play peacemaker, though, Aria will need to find the missing heart of a dead mystic. The heart gives untold powers to whoever possesses it, but finding it means seeking out a fierce enemy whose deepest desire is for Aria to be gone—forever.

Mystic City was a crowd pleaser (ok, well, it pleased me) and I am looking forward to this sequel coming summer 2013!

Theo himself.

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

my favorite of the cover variations!

The Diviners by Libba Bray has style.

This read is chock-full of cool NYC facts and lingo and places. I get the sense that Bray did her research and really nails the feeling of the period. It is also SO CREEPY. The short interlude chapters that give us an omniscient narrator and let us into the world of the serial killer are well done and so spooky I had to put the book down more than once because I was freaked.

It's 1920s New York City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but before the depression. And for certain group of bright young things it's the opportunity to party like never before.

For Evie O'Neill, it's escape. She's never fit in in small town Ohio and when she causes yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring she can be.

But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome. They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone. Evie wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first (GoodReads).

• Originality: 7. I loved the roaring twenties PLUS magic. Most of the points, however, are for including working-girl, immigrant life, and Harlem experiences in the mix. Yahoo for an author embracing the diversity of New York City.
• Absurdity:6. This score reflects the 1.5 million times I said EVIE, COME ON. Evie is supposed to be using her sass and flapper aspirations to cover up her insecurities, but I found her a bit grating. Being flippant  is not the same thing as being confident or grown up (but I guess she is a teenager, and supposed to learn the hard way) by page 200 I had started to really notice this.
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 3. Its just a story of two teens with paranormal powers falling in (forbidden) love. NBD. And its a back story to boot.
• Level of Harry-Potterness: 4. I should have loved this book. The language, the setting, my love of history. But I always felt like I was slogging through, not along for the ride. (Maybe because of its epic length?)  Overall I was disappointed.  I hope someone else has a better experience.

Trailer Procrastination: Mortal Instruments City of Bones

Okay, so I am on the fence about this series. Its way too Luke and Leia for me. BUT, but, but.....

This is pretty fab. Even if I am not sold on Jace, I AM sold on Clary. Bring it on, Lily Collins! 

What do you all think? Lets talk Moral Instruments!

Forgotten Young Adult Novels

Today NPR is running a story how a new publishing group will be re-publishing "forgotten young adult novels".  Interesting right? The first book up for publication is Lois Duncan's Debutante Hill:

When all the families on the Hill decide to launch their daughters in an elaborate debut season, beautiful Lynn Chambers is delighted. With her best beau, Paul, away at college, it will make her senior year less lonely, for this will be a time of elegant parties and dances. But when Dr. Chambers refuses to let his daughter participate in this display of snobbishness, Lynn finds herself ostracized from the community in which she grew up. Tense and frustrated, she mistakes Paul's gener for infidelity, and sick with a sense of isolation, allows herself to become involved with a shiftless young man from the wrong side of the tracks. Her new sense of compassion, based on her feeling of not belonging, teaches her to understand and help the confused boy, and when she and Paul are reunited, it is with a more certain, more meaningful understanding.

I am intrigued by this idea, and to be honest, would probably read this book: debutante balls, shiftless young men and meaningful understanding?  bring it on. (and I had to look up "gener", but it is not in my dictionary...)

From l., Dodd, Mead's 1958 cover forDebutante Hill by Lois Duncan,
and the upcoming Lizzie Skurnick Books edition.

Happy Friday all!

Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him? (GoodReads).

OMG! Go read Unspoken! Sarah Rees Brennan has written my favorite book that I have read in a while. I laughed, I swooned, and I read it in a single night.

Originality: 9. This book was refreshing! I loved that it started about mind-melded teens but grew into a much more intricate fantasy/mystery.
Absurdity: 6. You know how people complain sometimes that John Green's teenagers do not talk like real people? In Brennan's case, this is also true, because the whole darn town is charming and hilarious 100% of the time. But I looovvvvved it. Funny dad? Check:

“Why are you putting on lip gloss, my daughter?" Dad asked ." Trip to the library? Trip to the nunnery? I hear the nunneries are nice this time of year." "Not a date; I still remember Claud," Rusty said, and grabbed her ankle. " I forbid it." "You introduced me to Claud," Kami pointed out. "I'm a bad person," Rusty mumbled. "I do bad things." "Is this true, Kami? Are you going out on a date?" Dad asked tragically. "wearing that? Wouldn't you fancy a shapeless cardigan instead? You rock a shapeless cardigan honey.” 

Repartee between potential love interests? Check: 

“Boys. Listen up. We are going out for a girls’ night, where there will be dancing.”Kami did an illustrative shimmy. Angela looked resigned.Jared looked amused. “What was that?”“You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watching, Jared,” Kami informed him.“Have you considered that perhaps nobody’s watching because they’re too embarrassed for you?”“Fine,” said Kami, grinning at him. “Be a hater of dances. Be a hater of joy. I don’t care. You’re not invited!” 

Level of Paranormal Romance: 10! For swoon and build-up alone. There is no insta-love here, which you might expect from a book with mind-melded teens who finally meet. The next bonus was that none of the romances panned out the way I guessed (refreshing!) and there are charming boys galore to pick from. Finally, Brennan's thoughtful exploration of the difficulties and joys Kami and Jared have when forced face to face was moving and swoon-inducing. 
Level of Harry-Potterness: 10. I  loved, loved, loved this book. I laughed out loud a fair amount, and I am invested in the magic as well as the quirky characters. The second Lynburn Legacy book cannot come out soon enough.

Waiting on Wednesday: Fractured by Teri Terry (Slated #2)

Recently I lost a night of my life to "Slated" Book 1 by Teri Terry.  And all I can think about is Book 2, "Fractured" which comes out on April 4th, 2013:

Kyla has been Slated—her personality wiped blank, her memories lost to her forever. Or so she thought. She shouldn’t be able to remember anything. But increasingly she can—and she’s discovering that there are a lot of dark secrets locked away in her memories. When a mysterious man from her past comes back into her life and wants her help, she thinks she’s on her way to finding the truth. But this new knowledge lands her in the middle of a tug-of-war between two dangerous adversaries, and despite her misgivings about both of them, she’s forced to choose a side for her own protection.

A big thanks to to Jill at Breaking the Spine for hosting WoW, a weekly meme that showcases upcoming publications we are looking forward to. Cheers!

(PS. What are you "waiting on" this week?)

Top Ten Tuesday: Luuuvvvvvvv Interests

Hellllloooooooooooooo book bloggers! It is Tuesday again. That means its Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's TTT is dedicated to our fav hunky male love interests. Now, we love a good romance. (Remember the time I word-searched for kisses on my Nook? It happened. I needed to know I could depend on some budding romance in my read). Here we go!

Is that Tim Riggins cast by fans as Dimitri? 

Crazy Camper:

• Hunter from Mystic City by Theo Lawrence. He is dark and mysterious while at once FULL of emotions. My kind of guy.
• Augustus Waters from The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Always and forever. I am anxious to see who they cast for the movie version of this book!
• Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Preferably before he becomes a vampire/post-vampire moody goon.

Tim Riggins also hows up when
you image search Kaleb.
Ha!
(PS, I can support this).

Grad Student:

• Ben from Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. "hot neighbor cowboy" ENOUGH SAID.
• Tucker from the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand. Again, he is a cowboy. I love country music, and I particularly love country music in the summer, so this tendency should come as no surprise as I look forward to spring and summer.
• Kaleb from the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire. He likes to cook, knows he is a slice of sexy, and has tattoos for extra appeal. 
• George Cooper from The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce. THE ORIGINAL roguish charmer.
• The Hudson Boys from Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. Both Nash and Todd have made me swoon, and I still don't know who I love best.
• Sean from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvadter. I like how he is the strong silent type.

A cheers of our whiskey sour to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting such an awesome weekly meme! 

Want to hear more from us on these reads? Check out our reviews of Texas Gothic, Hallowed, aka book two of the Unearthly Series, Timepiece aka the Kaleb show, aka book two of the Hourglass series, The Scorpio Races, our review of both the Soul Singers series and My Soul to Take, and of course Vampire Academy, Frostbite, and Crazy Camper's lovefest of the Vampire Academy series.

Review: Mystic City by Theo Lawrence

 I can't lie, I stopped by the library on the way home from a run, and grabbed this book lightening fast due to rushing and a pretty cover.  Imagine how pleased I was when it turned out to be a VERY enjoyable read while I watched my NCAA bracket fall to pieces.

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.

Originality: 5/7.5, it is in a way a retelling of Romeo and Juliette's story, but not in a sneaky way because at one point there are code names and they use R and J,  but it is a story of class, feuding families, politics, love, and Manhattan (with some Gossip Girl style Upper West Side vs. Upper East Side tensions, and dont forget the East Village....)

Absurdity: 8.  Ok, so there are mystics with power... fine accepted. but we never find out when this power developed  how, who gets it, who doesn't... it is just plain old not explained which I just have a hard time overlooking.  Give us some ANSWERS, when world building you can't explain it all, but I need a little more.

Paranormal Romance: 8.  Forgotten memories, fancy balls, baffling clues of her past life, Aria is in deep with the paranormal romance, with some excellent steamy kisses and motorcycle rides with the bad boys of slums.  

HarryPottery-ness: 7.  Perhaps not the most solid of story concepts, I was still able to get swept up in their R&J/Gossip Girl-lite/5th Elementish story about first love.  New Yorkers will enjoy the city in a climate change world where the lower streets are flooded and gondolas replace taxis and there is a lot of sweat.  Though, come to think of it, NYC with more sweat in the summer sounds like a version of hell.    

AND.... the author is a 29 year old guy from Columbia/Fordham!  Very neat Theo, very neat.