A Friday Five (#17) Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf

Each Friday I'll feature one of my favorite books or a book I read in the last week and come up 5 words to describe it.  View it as a super mini review.  This week I'm featuring:

Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf

I finished this last Sunday during a reading marathon to finish off my reading during Bout of Books 8.0.  Here are the five words to describe it:

1. Bizarre
2. Confusing
3. Unique
4. Likable
5. Intriguing

Bizarre:  As in very odd. Because this is a supernatural/paranormal book, the reader is expected to make some pretty crazy leaps of faith.  The characters, besides the humans, were just bizarre as is the world the inhabit.

Confusing:  I had a hard time following this book.  There were so many different elements, between the otherworldly characters that I couldn't wrap my head around to the world building descriptions, to some of the plot-lines.  I stayed pretty confused until the second half of the book.

Unique:  This book was totally outside my comfort zone.  I found it to be very unique and I haven't come across any other books like it.  Maybe others who read more supernatural/paranormal books won't find it very different, but I have never read anything like it before.  This is not your typical vampire/zombie/werewolf/fairy/angel book. 

Likeable:  In general the characters were very likable.  I didn't LOVE any of them, and those characters that you were supposed to dislike, I did indeed dislike them. 

Intriguing: After a bit of a slow start for me, I did find the book to be ultimately intriguing.  I didn't know where the story was going to go, and I remained interested in finding out what happened.  This was the first in the series, so while I will probably pick up the second book to see what happens, I won't be rushing out to get it either. 

Feature & Follow Friday (#22)

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read.


This week's Question:

If you could only have ONE – one book – for the rest of your life. Don’t cheat…what would it be?

Yeah, I have no clue.  I have to imagine I would get sick of the same book over and over again.  The first book that pops into my mind though is This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.  I don't think I can ever get enough of Dexter.

"Waiting On" Wednesday (#26) Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm picking:
 
Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout
Expected publication: February 4th 2014 by Entangled: Teen

From Goodreads: 
Never was there a tale of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo…But true love never dies. Though they’re parted by the veil between the world of mortals and the land of the dead, Romeo believes he can restore Juliet to life, but he’ll have to travel to the underworld with a thoroughly infuriating guide.

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, may not have inherited his father’s crown, but the murdered king left his son a much more important responsibility—a portal to the Afterjord, where the souls of the dead reside. When the determined Romeo asks for help traversing the treacherous Afterjord, Hamlet sees an opportunity for adventure, and the chance to avenge his father’s death.

In an underworld filled with leviathan monsters, ghoulish shades, fire giants and fierce Valkyrie warriors, Hamlet and Romeo must battle their way through jealousy, despair, and their darkest fears to rescue the fair damsel. Yet finding Juliet is only the beginning, and the Afterjord doesn’t surrender souls without a price.

Why I'm Waiting:
I kind of love this idea.  It sounds so unique and so fascinating.  I am loving what Entangle has been putting out lately.

Teaser and Top Ten Tuesday (#23) 08/27/13

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Unfed (Undead #2) by Kirsty McKay

From pg.118 of my ARC*

Russ is like a winged monkey on steroids; he reaches the gate easily and quickly, reaching down at the monsters and whipping out this weapon to cut off the stretchered-out hands.  It's totally gross, but it doesn't stop them pushing the gate.

*This is and ARC copy.  Page number and quotes may not be the same in the finished copy.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

Meredith from Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1) by Stephanie Perkins

Whatever her faults may be, or her misplaced crushes, she is a good friend to Anna when she needs it the most.  She was definitely memorable.

Park's parents from Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I can't begin to tell you how much I loved Park's parents. I could read an entire story based on them.  His mother in particular.  She was actually my favorite character in my favorite book of the year.

Iko from Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Yes I have picked an android as a favorite secondary character.  But how awesome is she!?!  She can run a ship based on her power.  She doesn't even need an android body to be wise and a loyal friend.  Iko rules.

Jase's family from  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Yes it's cheating by picking the entire family instead of an individual, but I don't want to pick just one!  And really, I could have made up the list entirely devoted to the entire family.  They were all awesome, and I would have loved to have any of them in my family.

Luna Lovegood from  Harry Potter (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling

I know she doesn't appear until later books, but she is just so awesomely weird.  Plus she can kick butt.  There are so many great secondary characters throughout the entire Harry Potter series that it's really hard to pick just one.

Kristy Palmetto from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

There were so many awesome secondary characters in this book that it was hard to pick just one.  I picked Kristy because she is so awesomely vocal and so kind.  She had been through a ton and never let it get her down.  She seemed so comfortable with herself that you just were rooting for her the whole time.

Jules Marchenior from Die for Me (Die for Me #1) by Amy Plum

If the secondary characters still gets their own novella, are they still a secondary character?  This is a perfect example of a great secondary character making an average series better. 

Cam Briel from Fallen (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate

And here is another example of a character making an average series better.  I had major issues with this series, and even though I read them all, I can't remember how it ends. But I do remember Cam, and I remember his story, and I will still root for him. 

Kenji Kishimoto from Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

How awesome is Kenji?  He's able to hide how awesome he is for most of the first book, and then after that?  Even more awesome.  I love the scenes that he's in.  Among many things I'm looking forward to in the final book, more Kenji is definitely one of them.

Daphne Cruz from Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1) by Jennifer Estep

One of those characters when you first meet her you don't know how awesome she is going to be.  She is smart, talented and loyal.  I always enjoy a scene with Daphne. 

Bout of Books 8.0 Sunday Results & Challenge Finale #Boutofbooks

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Time Spend Reading: 7 hours 9 minutes

Pages I Read: @344
@136 of Through to You by Emily Hainsworth (via audiobook)  
@208 of Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf

Number of Books I Read: 2
Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth    

Blogs I Visited: 0

Twitter Visited: 0

Bout of Books Participation (not reading): 1
New Bout of Books Blogs @ Little Lovely Books

Other Comments:
I had another great day of reading.  I actually accomplished almost all of my reading goals, which I am so excited about.  I had set a goal of how many books to read (5) and I met it!  The hours weren't there, but I did the reading. 

I am also going to update my main goals page, but here are my overall results:

Books Read: 5

• The Evolution of Mara Dyer  by Michelle Hodkin
• Out of Sight, Out of Time  by Ally Carter
• Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
• Through to You by Emily Hainsworth
• This Side of Jealousy (The Innocents #2) by Lili Peloquin

Hours I spent Reading: 59 hours 36 minutes (about, I got better at keeping track after the first few days)

Pages I read: @1673

Blogs I visited:  21

Bout of Books Challenges: 8

Twitter participation: 15 minutes :(

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 08/26/13

This weekly recap is hosted by Shelia of Book Journeys and the kidlit version is hosted by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers. Each week we recap what we’ve read and look at what’s coming up this week.

This is late this week!  I had a great reading week due to my participation in the Bout of Books read-a-thon.

Finished Reading:

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin
Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
This Side of Jealousy (The Innocents #2)
Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter
Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

Currently Reading:

Unfed (Undead #2) by Kirsty McKay

What I'm Reading Next:

Starcrossed (Starcrossed #1) by Josephine Angelini

Bout of Books 8.0 Saturday Results & Progress #Boutofbooks

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Time Spend Reading: 7 hours 6 minutes

Pages I Read: 271
268 pages from Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter
3 pages from Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
2 hours 15 minutes from Through to You by Emily Hainsworth    

Number of Books I Read: 1
Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter

Blogs I Visited: 0
Reading was my priority today

Twitter Visited: 1 (15 minutes)
I finally visited the twitter chat.  Well at least the last 15 minutes of it.

Bout of Books Participation (not reading): 1
Bookish Wishes @ Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf

Other Comments:
I had a kick-butt day of reading on Saturday.  I got through a lot of the audiobook I was reading, and even though I may not finish it, I am about half-way done, I will finish it shortly after the read-a-thon is over.  I also have a delema.  Do I continue to read Idelible, which I don't love, or should I jump into another book.  I think I am going with an all new book.  It may mean I don't finish as many books as I planned, but I will get closer.  I have some stuff on Sunday including my book club, so I doubt I will do as well on Sunday as I did as Sat.

Sunday Challenges:
New Bout of Books Blogs @ Little Lovely Books

Here is a list of blogs I have discovered through this challenge.  I actually didn't keep good track of which blogs I visited that were new to me, but I did start following those I did discover.

Music, Books, and Tea
Synchronized Reading
Book Lady's Reviews
Of Nowhere Land
Reading in Winter
 
I'm sure there were others, but these are the blogs I'm most confident that were new to me.  

Bout of Books 8.0 Friday Results & Progress #Boutofbooks

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Time Spend Reading: 2 hours 36 minutes

Pages I Read: 105
103 pages from The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin
2 pages from Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
26 pages from Out of Sight, Out of Time (Gallagher Girls #5) by Ally Carter

15 minutes from Through to You by Emily Hainsworth   

Number of Books I Read: 1
The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin

Blogs I Visited: 5
Gaga Over Books
Super Librarian
Love YA Books
The Secret Life of a Bookworm
Tressa's Wishful Endings

Twitter Visited: 0

Bout of Books Participation (not reading): 1
Bookish Mad Libs @ The Space Between

Other Comments:  This was my worst day of reading by far.  The positive is that I did finish another book.  I am hoping I can finish one or two more.  If I only read 3 that would be a totally average reading week, and I really wanted to be above average during the reading challenge.  My husband has not been that supportive this time and keeps bothering me, and talking to me while I'm trying to read.  Doesn't he know?!?!

A Friday Five (#16) False Sight (False Memory #2) by Dan Krokos

On Fridays I'll feature one of my favorite books or a book I read recently and come up 5 words to describe it.  View it as a super mini review.  This week I'm featuring:

False Sight (False Memory #2) by Dan Krokos

I read this right before it was released last week.  This was one of the more difficult books to describe.  Here are my five words to describe it:

1. Mysterious
2. Entertaining
3. Solid
4. Violent
5. Unexpected

Mysterious:  I won't give anything away, but the last few chapters tossed a wrench into everything, and I have no idea how this series is going to turn out.  It is all very mysterious.

Entertaining:  I thought it was a good edition to the series.  I didn't love it as much as the first book, but it kept me reading and I stayed entertained.

Solid:  This is probably the best word to describe it.  It didn't knock me over with awesomeness, but I enjoyed it.  A good solid book.

Violent:  If you read the first book in the series, this will not come as a shock.  There is violence and death, and killing, and weapons, and action.  If you don't like any type of violence in your book, stay away from this.  However, there are books that are A LOT more violent on this.  I would put it as a good PG-13 on the violence scale.

Unexpected:  This is the word I had the hardest time with.  I'm going with unexpected, although I'm sure there is a much better adjective out there.  This actually goes back to the most memorable part of the book for me.  The direction of the story completely changed from what I was expecting from the first book.  I don't know if I love the new direction or the new elements that were introduced, but it kept me on my toes.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first one, you will probably enjoy this one too.  I am really curious to know what happens in the final book.  I don't know if I can wait an entire year!

Bout of Books 8.0 Thursday Results & Progress #Boutofbooks

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Time Spend Reading: 4 hours 15 minutes

Pages I Read: 243 pages, and 34 minutes from an audiobook
39 from  Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
204 from The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin
34 minutes from audio of Through to You by Emily Hainsworth 

Number of Books I Read: 0, but I am getting close.

Blogs I Visited and commented on: 5
Bookeeshopgal
A Glo-Worm Reads
Reading Angels
Unabridged Bookshelf
The Voracious Reader & Letter Writer

Twitter Visited: 0

Bout of Books Participation (not reading): 2
Book Road Trip @ In Wonderland
I Spy... @ Paperback Dreamer

Other Comments:  I met all of my reading goals, however, Mara Dyer is taking longer than I had hoped.  I really wanted to finish it last night, but once again the day got away from me.  It will be done tonight.  I am happy that I am surpassing my blog visits goals, but if there is one thing I am disappointed with, it's my complete lack of participation in anything twitter related. 

Friday Challenge:

Bookish Mad Libs

A. Place name or type (from a book title) can be a proper name or noun like Italy or mountains B. Fave Villain (from a book - list title/series) C. Adjective (from a book title) (hot, cold, dark, etc.) D. Number (from a book title) E. Noun (from a book title) F. Fave Hero/Heroine you wouldn't mind spending a LOT of time with (from a book - list title/series) G. Dessert (from a book title)

Here are my answers:

A. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
B. Lunar Queen Levana - Lunar Chronicles
C. Golden by Jessi Kirby
D.17 & Gone of Grey by Nova Ren Suma
E. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
F. Noah Shaw - Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin
G.  The Cupcake Queen - by Heather Helper


The results:

Help! I'm being held captive at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by The Lunar Queen Levana!
It is very Golden here!
She is demanding 17 Moons to set me free!
I have just discovered that Noah Shaw was captured too!
On second thought, please send Cupcakes, and don't worry if you don't hear from us for awhile!


Much Love,

LisaILJ

Feature & Follow Friday (#21)

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read.


This week's Question:

Book Selfie! Take a pic with your current read.

What fun!  Here is my head and the book I'm reading.

Bout of Books 8.0 Wednesday Results & Progress #Boutofbooks

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

Time Spend Reading: 3 hours.  I started timing myself, but I'm not in the habit, so I'm sure I missed some time spent reading.

Pages I Read: 139 and 18 minutes of an audio book.
16 from  Indelible (The Twixt #1) by Dawn Metcalf
123 from The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin
18 Minutes from audio of Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

Number of Books I Read: 0 yesterday, 1 total

Blogs I Visited: 5

Coffee Bean Bookshelf
Music Plus Books
Of Nowhere Land
The Book Tower
Reading in Winter

Twitter Visited: none.  I ended up not being home for the chat.  I fail.

Bout of Books Participation (not reading): 2
TBR List Challenge @ Musings of a Bookship Girl
Book Spine Poetry @ Such a Novel Idea

Other Comments: 
I actually expected to get more reading done yesterday, and I failed, which makes me kind of mad at myself.  I hope today is better.  I started listening to an audio book to maximize my time.  For example.  Once I get off the metro (where I am reading), I have about a 10 minute walk to work.  Instead of listening to music, I will listen to my audio-book.  Also, this weekend when I have to clean, I will listen to my book then.  I'm not sure I will be able to finish it, but I can try! I am going to try to do a better job of tracking my time spent reading.  I have been doing a pretty bad job of it.  I have been meeting my reading goals, but I haven't been meeting my time goals. I also really need to participate in twitter!

Thursday Challenges:

 

I Spy…Challenge

This should be fun.  You have to use books you own, electronically or physically and do a scavenger hunt to find these items on the covers.  I was surprised to find that there are some where very difficult, even though I own a TON of books (614), eBooks (631), ARCs (557).

            Snowflake      City Skyline           Flames                The Moon        A Sword     
            Wedding Dress      High Heels      Fog                Christmas Tree        Sunglasses
               Lightening      Tattoo            Combat Boots             Hand-cuffs       Road

The wedding dress is really hard to see, but it looks like a wedding dress on the right side, there is a bouquet, so I am thinking the dress is a wedding dress.  The combat boots are a guess.  They could be worker boots, but I can't tell, and it was the closest I could get to combat boots.  So annoying, there are covers where the feet are cut off that you KNOW they are wearing combat boots. Some of these were HARD!

Book Road Trip Challenge

I am actually going to put my favorite places in the world for this one. I have been to all these places, and I love them all.


Summer Prince--Brazil (I've been there 3 times so far)
Anna--France (I love it)
Name of the Star--London (I would live there if I could)
Dash & Lily--New York (Maybe my favorite city in the U.S.)
Lola--San Francisco (Tied with NYC.  I can never decide which one I like more)

Honorable Mention:
I had a hard time finding any YA books that take place in Hawaii, which I love.  I read one when I was a kid, Follow That Boy, but it is along out of print, with no cover image.  I also didn't think I would have any luck finding a YA book that took place in Curacao or South Africa.