Catching Fire and VA Trailer!

So I went to the midnight showing of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Thursday night and it was absolutely fantastic! I enjoyed it much better than the first one. Not only was I on the edge of my seat the whole time but I also cried on about three separate occasions.  I just had all the feelings during the movie! Standout side character? Johanna Mason. I don't remember her being such a spitfire in the books! I just loved the movie so much and I can't wait to see it again! 

Also, in other fantastic news! There was a brand new full length trailer of Vampire Academy and I got to see it on the big screen! I love this new movie poster! The lime green with the large neon pick words is perfect! I love the whole sarcastic, Mean Girls feel they've added to the movie. I think it's going to rock! So for your viewing pleasure:

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Title: Throne of Glass
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #1
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's USA
Source: ARC via ALA
Find it Here:  Goodreads, Amazon

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

My thoughts:

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!!! Now I understand what all the hype is about and why everyone is loving this series sssssoooo much!! And why is it that Throne of Glass has been sitting on my shelves for almost a year and a half? I picked this book up at ALA 2012 having no idea what it was. There was just this pile of books sitting on a table and the publicists told me to take one! So I did and a year and half later….whoa!!!!

The story of Celaena is as fascinating as the world she lives in. We meet her at a death camp where has been sentenced for being a world famous assassin. She works in the salt mines and has surprisingly survived this place for a year when the Prince of Adarlan has an offer she just can’t refuse. She goes to the castle to compete in a five month competition in the hopes of becoming the King’s champion which means she would still be an assassin just killing the people that the King wants her to kill. And then there’s the mystery of where all the magic went when the King banned magic and why it all disappeared so quickly! This world is going to be quite fascinating when we get more into the history of it because apparently there are also magical beings that most people believe don’t exist anymore! We’ll see about that.

I am not usually a big fan of love triangles especially when they just pop up out of nowhere. But the love triangle in Throne of Glass is a pretty good one. Both Prince Dorian and Chaol (the captain of the guards) keep their distance from Celaena because they know that she is dangerous and possibly going to try to escape. But as they both spend more time with her they both get to know her better and see the person she really is and they both start to fall in love with her!! Yes, it’s good and it happens slowly and I am literally torn between the two of them. They both have their strengths and weaknesses but yet both of them can be really good for her. I’m definitely interested to see where the love part of the story goes in Crown of Midnight!

Celaena is such a great heroine!! She’s likable, funny, strong, sensitive, kind and an animal lover! She’s funny at all the right moments and serious when she needs to be. She’s not one of those annoying sarcastic characters that I've been seeing a lot of in YA recently. You know the character: something as serious as life and death is happening but the main character always makes some stupid, witty comment in her mind like, “I’m about to fight the lord of the giants. No big deal. It can’t be much harder than climbing the rope in P.E.” I hate shit like that. I want to punch characters like that. And Celaena is NOT like that at all!

I loved Throne of Glass so much! It’s an instant favorite series for me! And from what I've heard Crown of Midnight is just as good and as exciting! It’s a really quick read and for those who love fantasy out there, it is now part of the top five that I would recommend in fantasy!

Waiting on Wednesday (99)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: The Taking
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Taking #1
Hitting the Shelves: April 29, 2014

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day.

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

Why I want this: Kimberly Derting is one of my favorite authors and The Body Finder series is also one of my favorite! Although I wasn't that big a fan of The Pledge, I'm willing to read her new series and The Taking sounds awesome!

Divergent Full Trailer

Oh the full trailer!! Oh it's so good! I am seriously so excited for this movie! I've heard a lot of criticism  about the actor who plays Four saying that he looks too old but I think he looks perfect for the role.  He has to look old enough to have a sense of authority over the initiates but still young enough that being with Tris isn't weird.  I'm pretty happy with the cast on the whole!

 

Feature and Follow Friday

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. This week's features are Bibliotaph's Reviews and Rainy Dayz Reviewz!

This week's question is: Are there any book to movie adaptations where you think the movie is better than the book?

Answer: This is a really hard question but I think I'm going to have to go with two answers. 1. Beautiful Creatures.  I read the book not too long before the movie was released and I thought the book was awful! But the movie was pretty enjoyable.  2. City of Bones.  I listened to City of Bones on audio book and it was dreadful.  The reader made Clarey seem even more whiny than she already was and the book on the whole just completely annoyed me.  But the movie was quite enjoyable.  It was very entertaining.  Random note: Twilight: Breaking Dawn, the fake end of the movie was how I wished the book actually ended, with a big fight scene and a bunch of people dying.

Thanks for visiting, commenting on this post and following my blog! Leave me a link and I will definitely follow you back :) Happy reading!

Review: Game by Barry Lyga

Title: Game
Author: Barry Lyga
Series: Jasper Dent #2
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Find it Here: Goodreads, Amazon

Billy grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”

I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent.
In an effort to prove murder didn't run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case. And now, when a determined New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz’s door asking for help, he can’t say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple–and its police force–running scared. So Jazz and his girlfriend, Connie, hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer’s murderous game.

My thoughts:

Game is the second book in the Jasper Dent series and sequel to I Hunt Killers. I’m going to try my hardest to make this review as spoiler free as possible! Okay, so that’s not going to happen and there are going to be a few spoilers from the first book.

Game takes off relatively close to where I Hunt Killers ends and just dives right back into Jasper Dent’s crazy life. Because of all the help that Jazz was able to give to his local police department, a detective from New York would like his help catching a serial killer that has been roaming the streets of New York City. The detective believes that there’s nothing really special about this killer but Jazz might think that his father is really the one behind all these murders. Of course, in typical Jazz style, he goes off on his own mission and ends up in quite the predicament which make the ending such a crazy cliffhanger and so OMG!!!

Game has all the same main characters as I Hunt Killers which is awesome because Howie is just so funny! But we don’t get very much of Howie because he doesn't accompany Jazz to New York City. Connie is an okay character and I don’t think she really adds a lot to the story. I would have to say that some of my favorite parts were the short chapters from the point of view of the anonymous killer. Those parts were just very gruesome, disturbing and very creepy.

Even though I did feel like some parts of the book were a little slow, I enjoyed the story very much. The last few chapters just had me on the edge of my seat and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Jazz in the next book!

Waiting on Wednesday (98)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating. This is one of my favorite memes because not only is my TBR pile so much bigger at the end of the night but also the covers are always amazing!

Title: Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige
Hitting the Shelves: April 01, 2014

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.

What happened?
Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!

Why I want this: I love the synopsis! I love that she has a mission to complete before she can take down Dorothy and I just love that cover! The blood red words are awesome!

Review: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Perfect Ruin
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: The Internment Chronicles #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Find it here: Goodreads, Amazon

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

My thoughts: 

Perfect Ruin is a beautifully crafted novel that caught my undivided attention early on. Lauren DeStefano has once again wrapped me up in her world-building, leaving me on the edge of my seat and definitely wanting more. The first book in her sophomore series is imaginative, inventive and creative, quickly making her one of my favorite authors.

Perfect Ruin is about a city called Internment and it is literally in the sky. It is surrounded by high intensity winds making it impossible for people to jump off. The main character, Morgan, describes the city as small enough for their train system to circle the city in about two hours. The citizens of Internment are made to believe that the Sky God has chosen them to live in a somewhat perfect society. There is hardly any crime and everything is regulated by the government. It’s all really fascinating. And then a murder disrupts everything!

I really loved the characters. Often time the characters’ attitudes and personalities are what really make or break a book for me. Morgan, the protagonist, is a very likable character. She doesn't make snide remarks, she’s not sarcastic and she’s really trying to see the reality of the world she lives in. She’s clearly struggling with thoughts of what’s on the ground and what it would be like to jump off Internment. She’s able to strike a balance with her curious side and her rational side which is what makes her such a great character.

Even though DeStefano writes with beautiful imagery, Perfect Ruin has very dark undertones that stay consistent throughout the novel. If you were a fan of her Chemical Garden trilogy then I recommend you pick up her new series. I will definitely be looking for the rest of The Internment Chronicles!