Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (12)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured blogger is Nicki J Markus!

Q: The magic book fairy pops out of your cereal box and says "you and your favorite character (from a book of course) can switch places!" Who are you going to switch with?

A: Well I just went to Josephine Angelini's signing of Starcrossed, a book I absolutely loved. So right now, as of today, I would like to switch places with Helen, the main character. Since Starcrossed is a trilogy, I'm super excited to see her grow into herself. But Starcrossed was so fun because she got to discover her abilities. She also discovered so much about her history and where she came from. And who would not want to be fated for Lucas Delos. Gorgeous!

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Who is the one author you are dying to meet?

A: I can only choose one? There are so many I would love to meet! If I had to choose just a few I would start with Libba Bray because I love her Gemma Doyle series and I'm dying to read Beauty Queens. I would love to meet Melissa de la Cruz (which I'm going to this month!) because I love the Blue Bloods series and I'm super excited about her new book, Witches of East End! Then I would have to say Richelle Mead because her Vampire Academy series is AMAZING!!!!

Review- Hereafter

Title: Hereafter

Author: Tara Hudson

Publisher: HarperCollins

Rating: 3/5

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Source: ARC via Netgalley

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life-or her actual death-she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their new found happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world....forever.

My thoughts:

I felt there was something missing in this book. It was the typical boy meet girl, girl's a ghost and now they have to figure out how that's going to work. Well, I guess that's not so typical but I felt like that was the whole plot line. I also lacked the emotional connection to the characters that makes the story memorable. It didn't win a place in my heart.

My favorite parts of the story were the fact that she only knew her name and nothing else and her trying to figure out her life and how she died. I'm really a sucker for a good mystery so I was very intrigued when different aspects of her life started to be revealed.

Of course, there was a bad guy, Eli, and he was the spirit who was charged with watching over the river and meadow area where Amelia died. He wasn't all that scary and I expected Amelia to win out in the end now matter what happened. I didn't really worry for her like I have for other characters in stories I've read before. When I read this type of book, I want to be sitting on the edge of my seat, unable to anticipate the next move or the next scene. But I didn't feel that anxiousness in this book.

Even though the story line was really good and very interesting, I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters; I couldn't get a solid sense of their feelings. Although I was left unsatisfied, I was intrigued enough to continue reading the series if it should continue.

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

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 because the covers are always amazing!

I just finished The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan yesterday and I'm on this zombie kick. I'm really interested in reading the various different and unique worlds of zombies that authors can create. So, this week I chose Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel. The cover is gorgeous and it sounds pretty good!

As far as romantic pairings go in the year 2195, you don't get much more unlikely than an upper-class schoolgirl and a poor minor from enemy tribes. Filter in the fact that he's a zombie, and you're definitely talking about star-crossed love.

Dearly, Departed is a cyber-Victorian/steampunk romance that takes place in the shadows of a new ice age. Nora Dearly, a mouthy teenage girl and apparent orphan, leaves school for Christmas-only to be dragged into the night by the living dead. Luckily for her, though, the good ones got to her first. From her reanimated rescuers she learns that not only zombies are roaming the countryside, but that her father is one-and that he's in terrible trouble. She also meets Captain Brian Griswold, a noble, strong, and rather sweet undead boy for whom she starts to fall.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Pamela Roe, is just trying to carry on with life as best she can in the wake of Nora's disappearance-when she ends up killing an evil zombie in self-defense. Pam is galvanized into action and ends up leading a group of survivors as the city of New London is thronged by the ravenous dead.

Upon hearing of Pamela's plight, Nora and Bram set out to rescue her friends, find her missing father, and maybe just save what's left of the world.

What are you waiting for?

Teaser Tuesday (7)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. It includes two sentences from your current read without any spoilers!

I'm just about to start Legacy by Cayla Kluver so I decided that I will just give you guys the first two sentences in the book!

"The first boy disappeared on the day of his birth, on a night when the pale yellow moon that ruled the sky turned red and bathed the heavens in the ghastly color of blood, the same night the Empire of Cokyri abruptly ceased its merciless attack. Across the land of Hytanica, in the villages, infant boys continued to vanish." pg. 11

I'm so excited to dive right into this book! It sounds amazing!!

Review- Ultraviolet

Title: Ultraviolet

Author: R.J. Anderson

Publisher: Orchard

Rating: 3/5

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Source: ARC via Netgalley

Once upon a time, there was a girl who was special.

This is not her story.

Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori-the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

My thoughts:

I was completely unaware of what I was getting myself into when I started reading Ultraviolet. Not only was it a mystery, but it was a huge dive into the world of psychology. Have you ever wondered if numbers have personalities or if you could taste words or see sounds? I would have to say that the mixing of the senses was my favorite part of the book. The way that the main character would explain how different words would taste different and how numbers had personalities.

I'm not going to give away any spoilers or tell you how it ended, but I was completely surprised and I still haven't decided if it was good or bad. I was so caught off guard that I'm not sure how I feel about it. If the ending could be changed to be a little different I think this book would be absolutely amazing.

Not many books shed light on those who live on the margins of society and suffer from mental illnesses. I really give R.J. Anderson props for telling a story about teens in a mental institution and showing their perspective on life.

Review- Spellbound

Title: Spellbound

Author: Cara Lynn Shultz

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Rating: 4/5

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Source: ARC via Netgalley

What's a girl to do when

meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to-Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Street lamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives-visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

My thoughts:

Spellbound was such a great love story! I really loved the past life tragedies and the fact that they were fated to be together. Brendan and Emma are drawn to each other in a way that they've never felt before. But their lives are possibly in danger if they act on their feelings.

As much as I loved this book, I expected there to be a lot of magic in it because of the name. I thought there was going to be unknown witch heritage, coven initiation and spells. But there was only one witch who did not know very much.

This Upper East side private high school full of snotty rich brats reminded me a lot of the high school I went to in Southern California. Kids with all the clothes they want, brand new cars and parents who just throw money at them.

I really loved the chemistry between Brendan and Emma. The writing was spectacular and sucked me right in from the beginning. I wanted them to end up together so bad and to break the spell. Of course I'm not going to tell you how it ended, so you're just going to have to read it for yourself!

May R.A.K Wrap-up

I know I'm a little late in wrapping up what I received from Random Acts of Kindness but the only thing that I've been doing for the past week is unpacking from moving from Virginia to California! It's been crazy and difficult to get back into the swing of things and to balance reading, blogging and family time. Anyway, without further ado, here's what I got:

Matched by Ally Condie

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Given by Kristen @ Bookworming in the 21st Century

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen
Given by Lillie @ Read My Mind

Numbers by Rachel Ward
Given by Jen @ Not Now...I'm Reading!

Thank you all so much for your kindness and generosity! I love being a part of this community! Book bloggers are the best :)

Random Acts of Kindness is hosted by Book Soulmates!