Waiting on Wednesday #2

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

My choice for this week is...

Title: Dance of Shadows

Series: Dance of Shadows (#1)

Author: Yelena Black

Expected Publication: November 27th, 2012

Publisher: Bloombury

Vanessa Adler isn’t so sure she really belongs at the School of American Ballet. But dance runs in her family. It’s been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her grandmother and mother were prima ballerinas, and her older sister Margaret was, too. That is, until Margaret mysteriously disappeared from school three years ago. Vanessa is heir to the family’s gift and the only person who can fulfill her sister’s destiny. She has no choice.

But she never could have guessed how dangerous the school is. The infamous choreographer, Josef, isn’t just ruthless with his pupils, he guards a sinister secret, one in which the school’s dancers—prized for their beauty, grace, and discipline—become pawns in a world of dark, deadly demons.

What a beautiful cover. From Black Swan to Princess Tutu, I love a tale of ballet. The darker, the better, and with ruthless choreographers, fierce competition, and demons, I could just swoon. From the little blurb, this book has my hopes high, and it looks like it has so much potential -- which I hope it realizes fully. After all, if it does, I expect that this book could be one of my favorites.

I'm just a sucker for that sort of artistic, but deadly setting.

I haven't read anything from Yelena Black before, nor have I seen this book reviewed by anyone just yet. As such, I admit, I'm a little bit nervous, because I think I would be most upset if it didn't turn out as awesome as I hope. With that said, November looks like it'll be an interesting month for books, and I will be awaiting reviews of this one in the meantime. 

Musing Mondays #1

Musing Mondays is a weekly feature hosted by ShouldBeReading. Each week, a question is asked, and bloggers answer it and thus reveal a little about themselves!

This weeks question is:

Do you take notes while you read?

I have just begun taking notes while I read, although they're not the most eloquent. My notes tend to be short and choppy, reflecting the fact that I'm just trying to quickly get a thought down so I can immediately go back to reading. I think I will try and change my note-taking style; perhaps using a notebook instead of a laptop, and taking clearer, more well-written notes whenever I take a break from reading. I keep having thoughts, things I want to talk about or add to a review, and then I don't write them down and I totally forget. 

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone [ The Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1 ] by Laini Taylor

Title: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Series: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Publication Date: January 1st, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316134023 
Rating: 5 stars

[NOTE: I will have a section called “SPOILERS”. It will, as you may have guessed, feature spoilers. So, here’s your warning to look at for that, lest you be spoiled!]

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of the best books I have read this year, and the hype has definitely been earned. Laini Taylor weaves words with magic; her style is eloquent and poetic without ever going over-the-top, and I’m sure she’s going to quickly become one of my favorite authors. Beautiful prose mixed with excellent characters that are constantly developing, an enchanting setting, and an intriguing plot makes this a book an excellent start to what will surely be a wonderful and immensely magical series. 


Continue reading →

Enclave [ Razorland #1 ] by Ann Aguirre

Title: Enclave
Series: Razorland
Author: Ann Aguirre
Publication Date: April 12th, 2011
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 0312650086 
Rating: 2 stars


[NOTE: There are mentions of rape in this review, due to the way it was handled being insanely problematic and just wrong. However, the book does not show graphic rape, and just alludes to the fact that it was a possibility for Deuce, and was in Tegan’s backstory.]


Continue reading →

Feature & Follow #1

The Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by two hosts, Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. Each week, answer a question and follow the Featured Blogs to gain more followers and meet new friends!

Q: What book(s) are you reading right now? What do you think of it?

I just finished up with Enclave by Ann Aguirre, which I will try to do a review of today. I am also now halfway through Asphodel by Lauren Hammond, as I've been having a serious craving for some Hades/Persephone. Unfortunately, I find the quality of this one to be rather lacking, and I'm not a big fan of characterization. I'm hoping it becomes better, as the prose has been increasingly less awkward, but I'm not sure quite yet.

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Title: Going Too Far
Author: Jennifer Echols
Publication Date: March 17th, 2009
Publisher: Pocket Books
ISBN: 1416571736 
Rating: 2 stars

I read Going Too Far with complete ambivalence. I cannot say that there were a plethora of offensive, glaring faults, but I did not enjoy the story, and upon finishing, I neither had the desire to think further on what I had read, nor was I excited to review it. As such, I read this at least a week ago, and have been putting off the review until now. It might be clear by now that romance is not my preferred genre, and I do not always pay close attention to the synopsis when going into a book, especially if it has come highly recommended. This is what happened with Going Too Far – it’s a straight-forward romance, and romances rarely leave me anything other than bored.

Continue reading →

Waiting on Wednesday #1

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

My choice for this week is...

Title: Velveteen
Series: Velveteen (#1)
Author: Daniel Marks
Expected Publication: October 9th, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books

Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem. The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days. It’ll be brutal... and awesome. But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker. 

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

This book looks so, so good, with dark, biblical themes, a possibly unhinged and violent protagonist, and a healthy sprinkling of horror. I love the freaky setting, Velveteen looks badass and appropriately sinister, and I'm excited to meet this evil Bonesaw guy. I can't wait, October can't come soon enough! 

Touch of Power [ Healer # 1 ] by Maria V. Snyder

Title: Touch of Power
Series: Healer
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publication Date: December 20th, 2011
Publisher: Mira
ISBN: 0778313077 
Rating: 4 stars

Avry is a selfless healer with a pure heart who is rescued from execution by a band of rogues. By rescued, of course, I mean kidnapped, as they intend to use her to heal Prince Ryne, whose body has been frozen in time to prevent the plague from killing him. The leader of the group – Kerrick – claims that Ryne is the only hope to put the Fifteen Realms back together, stop the fighting over who should rule, and make things right ever since the plague. Although Kerrick can be an asshole, especially if Avry is insulting Ryne (he’s very, very obsessed), these rogues are actually quite nice, so it’s not surprising that Avry becomes attached to them and learns to enjoy their company. They are a very close group and Avry slowly becomes an integral member of their makeshift family, which was very lovely to read.

Continue reading →

Easy by Tammara Webber [ TW: RAPE ]

Title: Easy
Author: Tammara Webber
Publication Date: May 24th, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
ISBN: 098566181X 
Rating: 3 stars

I didn’t pay enough attention to the synopsis, as I went into Easy thinking it was more of a drama about a girl dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault as opposed to a romance. I tend to avoid books in which the plot is essentially a love story, and had I known what Easy really was, I would have definitely skipped it over. I’m thankful that I was under the wrong impression, because Easy was fabulous, heartfelt, and made me sob while reading it in the bathtub!  

Continue reading →