Breaking Beautiful Review

Breaking Beautiful
by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Expected Publication: 04.24.2012
From Goodreads:

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

My Thoughts: I have to admit, I was impressed with this book. Obviously I was intrigued enough by it to request it from the YA tour blog that I participate in, but with the whole "teen girl wakes up from a horrible accident with no memory of what happened" plot- which has been done quite a few times in recent YA novels, I just wasn't expecting such a good read.  And I ended up being quite surprised by all the things that happened during Allie's missing hours and Trip's final moments.

It helps Wolf takes the time to develop her characters. Nobody's perfect here, and you get to see their flaws along with their perfections. And while the book does explore some darker themes, it never felt too heavy or dark for me. It's easy for YA authors to put their teens through extreme, unrealistic suffering, but it's also just as easy for them to give their heroines problems that most of us would kill to have- two gorgeous boys in love with one girl or rich, perfect looking friends who like a average looking girl thus making her talk about how plain she is in comparison, etc. Here the main character deals with a strained relationship with her parents, her twin brother's cerebral palsy, the death of her popular boyfriend, and a town that still sees her as an outsider. 






Allie and Blake's friendship was nicely written too.  It wasn't instant love, and it wasn't all consuming- both had to get to know each other again after their friendship was put on hold for a few years while Allie dated Trip and hung out with the cool kids.  But despite Allie's status as Trip's girlfriend, she doesn't really become friends with anyone else, she was only tolerated because of Trip's popularity.  After his death, she struggles to find a place where she belongs.  

My only real complaint is that the ending seemed abrupt. If it had been a little more fleshed out this probably would have been closer to a five star read for me. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to more books by Jennifer Shaw Wolf!

Breaking Beautiful gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 
The cover of gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

 I thought it went well with the story (the red shoe!) and it wasn't a Girl In A Beautiful Dress cover, which even though I tend to love the GIABD covers, it's nice to see a YA cover doing something a little different. 

Readathon Pile O'Books and a Hey Girl

First, a little pre-Readathon treat to all:

Sigh.  

So, now that's out of the way, here's the pile RG carried around for me:

From the Top:

The Next Accident by Lisa Gardner

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley

House of Odd by Dean Koontz and Landry Q. Walker (illustrated by Queenie Chan)

Meet Your Match, Cupid Delaney by Ellen Leroe

Fade by Lisa McMann

Envy by Gregg Olsen

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick 

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Will I get to all these books?  Probably not.  Especially considering that I'm also going to be with two of my fellow friends and bloggers, Kim and Steph.  Hopefully I'll be able to pry Why We Broke Up away from Kim, and I Hunt Serial Killers from Steph.  

Also, I have a lot of books awaiting me on my Kindle, so if none of these books are doing it for me, I'll read something from there.  Or just spend the whole Readathon finishing the third book in the Game of Thrones series.  

Besides reading (and eating!), I'll be cheering and hosting a mini-challenge during Hour 8.  I'm really excited to be doing Readathon with friends, especially bookish friends whose books I can steal borrow. 

What are you plans, bloggers?  Have you built your Readathon piles yet?  I know mine seems a bit ridiculous, but I believe in lots of choices (also graphic novels, mangas, and middle school readers).  Please, share your pile pictures, it's pretty much my favorite part of Readathon.

I can't wait for Saturday!

4.15.12 Sundays In Bed With...

Good morning, readers! 

Actually, I'm hoping you've taken the time to stay in bed with a book this morning, but if not here's what I'm reading in bed this morning:

 I just started Unraveling and it's the first time in a long time that I've had an instant connection with a YA heroine- usually it takes me awhile.  Riley cat is happy to pose in this pic, he loves to sit on or near my books.

 Emmy dog... not so much.  Seriously, getting this pic was really hard because not only is she afraid of my books, but my phone scares her too...  On a perfect Sunday morning I'd have enough time to get to Glimmer too, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. I'm actually working overnight, so I won't be in my nice comfy bed. :(  Which sucks, since I'm a bit (okay, a lot) sore from my first Zumba experience. 

What book are you spending Sunday In Bed With?  Or, since like me you probably have stuff to do, what book do you wish you could curl up and read?  Comment below, or better yet, take a picture and upload it on your own blog, twitter or goodreads page.  Looking forward to your responses!

Ali and Ramazan Review

Ali and Ramazan
by Perihan Mağden
Expected Publication: 4.24.12
From Goodreads:

Ali and Ramazan are two boys from very different backgrounds who land in the same Istanbul orphanage. They quickly see eye to eye and fall into a loving relationship as children, bringing light to one another and to the other orphans in their dreary adopted home. Ramazan is a charmer, the school master's favorite (which we later learn is not such a positive thing), the clown among the boys, and the only one with a real handle on things outside the orphanage's walls. He takes Ali under his wing, and by the time they turn eighteen and are loosed onto Istanbul's mean streets, Ali and Ramazan are a pair. What happens next is both tragic and beautiful, a testament to love finding its way even among the least visible citizens on Turkey's mean streets.

My Thoughts: Ali and Ramazan is a much different read from my usual thrillers or YA, but it's a short, powerful story of a true and desperate love that's all consuming and burns almost too bright to last. It's not a happy book, the orphans of Istanbul are not saved by Daddy Warbucks, but Ali and Ramazan do find each other, and change one another. Ali was sweet and loveable, still innocent even after his brutal upbringing, and charming Ramazan is always in control despite the out of control relationship he has with the orphanage "master". 

Once out of the orphanage, the two boys find themselves ill prepared for life outside it's walls. Love doesn't always conquer all, and sometimes we hurt those that we love the most.  Ramazan is a natural survivor, but when the chips are down he turns to the only way he has of making money, putting a wedge between him and Ali.

With it's child prostitution and violence, this book isn't for everyone. I wanted to read outside my comfort zone, and a translated book from Turkey about two boys in love is about as far as I can get from the books I usually review on here. I've read other translated books, from Japanese and  Swedish authors, and it often feels like I have too many books on my tbr list than I have time on earth.  It just blows my mind that I'm missing out on even more great books simply because the author's native language isn't English.  Maybe I'll host a Translated Reading Challenge... Would anyone be interested?

Despite it's sad ending, I couldn't help but think that it was the best (of the worst) ending for Ali and Ramazan.  I'm surprised by how long the characters have stayed with me, and while I don't think I'll ever re-read the book since it was so sad, I'll never need to because this love story will stay with me.  When I was reading it the sadness was what I thought would stay with me,  but the author brought these characters to life for me and I really felt I knew Ali and Ramazan. I'm glad I waited a few weeks before writing this review and I definitely think this is worth a read if it's caught your attention. 


Ali and Ramazan gets a Midnight Book Girl Rating of:

Disclaimer: I requested and received a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

And because I actually have the author photo, here is the lovely Perihan Mağden:

 I would love to know what books are on her shelves!

Tales of Terror From The Black Ship Review

Tales of Terror From the Black Ship
by Chris Priestly
From Goodreads:

When Ethan and Cathy fall ill during a storm, their father must leave them to fetch the doctor. . .but they are not alone for long. A sailor comes begging for shelter. So, the children agree to let him sit out the throes of the storm as they listen to his grisly tales. But something about the man puts Ethan on edge, and he is anxious for the storm to blow over, their father to return and the long night to come to an end.  Storms whistling through the sails, evil pirates pacing the floorboards, and of course, a haunted ship of ghostly beings…  All this and more is waiting to give you goose bumps in an atmospheric and thrilling collection of spooky seafaring tales. 

My Thoughts:  I don't really consider myself a fan of pirates, but I really loved the stories of pirates and ships in this book.  The tales are gruesome and morbid, so basically they were tailor made for me. :)  I read Priestly's Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror awhile back and enjoyed it, but this was even better.  It's filled with stories that I hope to read to my kids someday.  Maybe that makes me a bad future parent, but I think it makes me awesome.  My kids aren't going to be afraid of the things that go bump in the night, they will be the things that go bump in the night.

Originally I had purchased this book on my Kindle for last October's Readathon (as I always try to read some "scary" books during that time), but usually my physical book pile is so huge I don't make it to my Kindle.  Plus, it's super hard to update my pages read status since my Kindle works on percentages... and math is not my thing, so no, I cannot convert my percentage to page numbers.  But the point is, I think Priestly's books make good readathon material, each chapter is a short story and I'm always impressed by authors who can craft good short stories.

The illustrations, by David Roberts, brings to mind the drawings of Edward Gorey.   This was definitely a plus for me, and they fit the tales so well.  I don't know if I had a favorite tale or not, but the one with the snails definitely will haunt me for a long time to come.  And for cat lovers, there's a good tale of why it's best not to cross them.  Mostly I liked the children the tales are being told to, especially Cathy.  I can easily imagine my own children demanding gruesome and spine tingling tales as a storm rages around them.  ;)


Tales of Terror From the Black Ship is not for all of you, but if you like the occasional morbid tale, or you're a big fan of pirates, then I would definitely recommend this to you!

Tales of Terror From the Black Ship gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

(because you may have trouble sleeping at night!)

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

Love the illustrations!

4.8.12 Sundays In Bed With...

Good morning, blogger world!  Once again Sunday crept up on me, and it doesn't help that I've worked over 24 hours straight this weekend.  But I'm home, and my bed is calling my name, along with the book that I hope to finally get started today.

I'm spending my Sunday in bed with...

 Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation

I've owned this book for a long time.  I discovered Kaleb back when he had a blog/vlog about a guy's take on reading Twilight.  His blog was clever and witty and he was in the process of getting this book published.  He was maybe 19 at the time, but he started writing the book when he was in high school.  So I picked up this book, and the sequel (which is on my Kindle) but I have yet to read either.  Today this fail ends!

Is there a book you're in bed with this Sunday?  If not, is there a book you would love nothing more than to snuggle under the covers and read the day away?  Either comment below, or better yet, post this meme with a picture of the book in your bed and link back here!

And Happy Easter/Passover/Sunday, that's my Funday!

When You Were Mine Review

When You Were Mine
by Rebecca Serle
Expected Publication: 05.01.12
From Goodreads:

In this intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told, Romeo’s original intended—Juliet’s cousin Rosaline—tells her side of the tale. What’s in a name, Shakespeare? I’ll tell you: Everything.     Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her—and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy...and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t even stand a chance.     Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. This is not how the story was supposed to go. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends….

My Thoughts: This book had me a little torn.  There are parts of it that I really liked, and parts that I didn't care for.  But because it was based on Romeo and Juliet I was both equal parts excited by the idea and horrified it would be epic fail, which thankfully it wasn't.

I'll begin with what I did like-

The main character is supposed to be Rosaline, Romeo's first love from Shakespeare's immortal play.  And although there were parallels to the play, it wasn't a re-telling. 

Rose (Rosaline) was easy to like.  She just felt real, like she'd be someone I'd know and like.  Her relationships with her friends and potential love interests was very real and I thought she handled her heartbreak like an adult.

Len!  He's just the voice of reason, and his relationship with Rose is the stuff YA couples are made of.  I don't know if he was meant to remind me of Mercutio, but he totally did.  And that's a good thing, because Mercutio is my favorite character from Romeo and Juliet.  Luckily, Len's fate is much nicer than Mercutio's , and his character has some nice quirks that make him attractive but not perfect.

What I didn't like so much:

Juliet of the play doesn't have much in common with Rose's cousin Juliet in the book- other than the whole impulsive teenager aspect.  In the play Juliet and Romeo fall in love, and it's not a vindictive move against Rosaline.  But Rose's cousin is portrayed as being fairly unlikeable.  She purposely goes after Rob to hurt Rose, although it seems that she does love him.

While I thought Rose was very realistic about Juliet and Rob's new romance, her friends  were very catty and insulting.  Obviously Juliet must be a slut if Rob fell in love with her so soon after declaring his interest in Rose.  Although, to be fair, boys get stupid when it comes to beautiful girls.  I guess it's some of the same behavior me and my girlfriends displayed in high school towards love rivals, but it just comes across as crass and immature.

And that brings me to Rose's friends.  For the most part they were very two dimensional- Olivia is blond and ditsy, but with a heart of gold!  And even though she's a virgin in the beginning, she's very boy crazy.  Charlie, Rose's bff, is a mean girl.  Yes her mom died, and that gives her some depth, but mostly she's just mean.  The two girls are very into being popular.  A lot of what they said and did had me rolling my eyes.  It was nice though, how they supported Rose.

The most frustrating thing was how much her friends were pushing Rose to get Rob back from Juliet.  Exsqueeze me?  Get back the boy who suddenly ignores you, the boy who was your best friend and finally just kissed you but didn't have "the talk", the boy who danced all sexy with you and then hooks up with your cousin in the few minutes you take to freshen up in the bathroom? Really? Because Rob became a tool.  And yes, Romeo's kind of a tool too, in the play, but at least when he falls head over heels in love with Juliet, Rosaline wasn't his life long best friend and crush. She was just some girl he had a crush on who was giving him the cold shoulder.   

Sooo... I liked this book.  I didn't really, really like it or love it, but I don't regret reading it.  It wasn't quite what I expected.  Some of the characters are pretty shallow, but Rose and Len made up for that for me.  And even though Rob ditched her, I liked the flashbacks of his friendship with Rose.  It makes it a bit easier to see why Rose doesn't just claw Juliet's eyes out, and trust me, the book could have gone there.  And there is a sadness that comes from reading this book, as should be expected when reading a book based on the tragic love of Juliet and her Romeo. 

I wish it had focused a little more on Rob and Juliet's relationship, especially some of the rumors going around about Juliet.  It's hard to believe, in the times that we live in, that someone wouldn't have just made her go see the guidance counselor.   Still, the drama that comes out at the end was pretty interesting, and explains why the Caplets and Montag's aren't such good friends anymore.

When You Were Mine gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Nightfall Review

Nightfall
by Stephen Leather
From Goodreads:

‘You are going to Hell, Jack Nightingale.’ They are the words that ended Jack Nightingale’s career as a negotiator with the Metropolitan Police. But two years later, when Nightingale is a struggling Private Eye, the words come back to haunt him. Nightingale discovers that he was adopted at birth and that his real father, a confirmed Satanist, sold Nightingale’s soul to a demon from Hell. And on his thirty-third birthday – just weeks away – the demon is coming to claim its prize.

Nightfall is a fast-paced 105,000 words and is the first in a trilogy about the occult detective.

 My Thoughts: Oh, the joy of discovering an author I instantly know I'm going to love! And it was pretty much love at first chapter for me and Nightfall. This book had me at the summary (different from the one I found on Goodreads).  Inherits a mansion with a priceless library and a terrifying warning?  Yes, please.  I'll take two.

Nightfall is the first book in the Jack Nightingale series.  And like some of my other favorite Jack's (Jack Bauer from 24 and Captain Jack form Pirates of Carribean), Nightingale is a bit of an anti-hero.  He smokes... a lot.  Probably skip this book for now if you're trying to quit.  Normally this is kind of gross to me, because honestly how bad would he smell if he smoked that much, but it says something for my belief suspension that I was able to still find Jack attractive- it also shows that England has become as anti-smoking as America, useful information for when this non-smoking Midnight Girl finally finds herself across the pond.   I guess part of me just pictures most of Europe in a smoky haze and I always hoped that it was more socially acceptable to stumble around England and France drunk since that's the only time cigarette smoke doesn't bother me.

Jack's also a tormented soul, no pun intended.

When we first meet Jack he's a successful police negotiator, trying to talk a very young girl off her balcony.  Several horrible incidents later, and Jack quits the force and is now a private investigator.  He pays his bills, somewhat unsuccessfully, by tracking cheating spouses.  Fortunately Jack has Jenny, or a His Gal Friday, keeping him and his business afloat. Jenny is stunningly over-qualified for her job, but exactly what Jack needs.  Their relationship was definitely a favorite part of the book for me.

But the real story takes off when Jack learns that his birth father sold his soul to a devil (not the devil) and he begins to think that maybe it's true.  He inherits this gorgeous mansion with a huge, secret library in the basement- although the books aren't exactly the kind most of us would be anxious to read.  Well, I don't know about some of you, but the books and knick knacks are of the dark occult variety. And not the "light a white candle for purity of thought, or tie your hair in a lovers knot and slip it under the pillow of your attended sweetheart to make them love you " spell books (I just made all this shiz up, except the white candle, I think that might be from The Secret Circle series).  More like How to Summon Demons and The Proper Handling of Sacrificial Animals.

Jack's suddenly in a world where I kind of expected the Winchester brothers from Supernatural to show up and help him out.  Actually, I see potential for some fan fic here.

The whole book was a page turner for me, as the more Jack finds out the more danger those around him are exposed to.  Heck, danger is too meek of a word- mortal peril fits better.  I don't really consider this a horror novel, more like a supernatural thriller.  But then again, I don't find most Stephen King books to be true horror.  

I can't wait to read more books by Stephen Leather, my biggest problem is simply choosing what book I should read first, although I just purchased The Bestseller to read on my Kindle during Readathon (it's just a short novella). I though Nightfall was new, but it's just new to the US, so I'll definitely be able to get the second Nightingale book in June!

Nightfall gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

This was definitely a full on Midnight Read for me!

My review copy didn't have the final cover art, so I'm skipping the cover rating. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

Anna and the French Kiss 
by Stephanie Perkins
From Goodreads:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

My Thoughts: I have to admit, I'm impressed.  I've seen lots of reviews on Anna and the French Kiss (hundreds of them!), and everything I've ever read has been positive.  Plus my some of my best friends have read and loved the book. I bought it months ago, when sadly I benefited off the closing of my local Borders, but it lingered like so many other books on my shelf.  So a few Sundays ago I made up my mind to just read it already. 

I read the first few chapters that day and was immediately happy with it. Anna was easy to empathize with, and the book is just flat out funny.  But then I put the book down.

Are you shaking your head at me?  You should.

In my defense I've had several review books that I've had to read the past two weeks.  So the other day I was just going to read a bit more and finally get past chapter 3, when suddenly I couldn't put the book down.

Needless to say that not a lot other than reading went down in my house, because housework can wait until the people from Hoarders show up and help me clean my house with shovels and stuff. 

Etienne and Anna... sigh.  Paris... sigh. Old movies on the big screen... sigh.  I fell in love. 

Afterwards I kind of cuddled the book... just a little. 

Don't worry, nothing got creased.  I'm a careful reader and cuddler. 

Oh, young love and its misunderstandings.  Please, read this book.  You know you want to!  And don't be put off by how wildly popular it is, because it's not just bunk, it's actually worth the hype.

Anna and the French Kiss gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

It's okay, but it doesn't blow me away.  And where's her stripe?!

4.1.12 Sundays In Bed With...

For some reason, Firefox isn't working on my laptop, but the Hubs was sweet enough to let me use his computer to post my meme.  So this Sunday I'm spending some time in bed with...

A Crafty Killing (almost done!)

and

When You Were Mine

Once again, Riley feels the need to attack/pose anytime I put books on the bed.  He usually waits to lay on them until I've started reading them.  And while he doesn't nibble books, I've learned it's best not to use bookmarks with dangley pieces when he's around...

So what book are you spending Sunday In Bed With?  It doesn't have to be something you actually have time to curl up and read, just let me know what you would choose if you could.  Take a picture and feel free to link back to me, or just comment below!