Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi
Release Date: March 18, 2012
Pages: I had the e-Book version, around 300 pages

Synopsis: Can true love survive the end of the world?

Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he's the only thing on her mind.

All Chris "Chase" Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed--breaking his heart without ever telling him why.

Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones to a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk...and feed. As they begin their pilgrimage to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost--all while attempting to save what's left of the human race?

My Thoughts:  I have to say this book was just ok for me, I didn't love it nor did I hate it. At first I had a hard time catching on to the fact that each chapter is a sort of flashback to before the zombies came into existence. Once I figured that out it was a definitely better.

Peyton's and Chase's character were very similar. Both had their weaknesses and strengths and the author played off of them well.

I truly believe boys will enjoy this book more just on the pure zombie factor. Sure there's some relationships in the book but that's real life.

It's definitely worth reading to see if you like it or not.

3/5 Stars
  

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Pages: 324

Synopsis: Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he’s heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma’s gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .

Told from both Emma and Galen’s points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

My Thoughts: This was my first mermaid/men book and I truly enjoyed it

Emma is sweet and innocent she has no idea what's going on and why Galen has such an affect on her. The wit and humor in this book is well placed and will keep you turning the pages.

Galen's character is very sweet and charming. He's uncomfortable in his human form but truly tries to understand and relate to Emma's struggles.

The one complaint I have is the ending. It was very abrupt and felt rushed to me. Otherwise it was an enjoyable read.

4/5 Stars

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Release Date: January 3, 2012  
Pages: 387  

Synopsis: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl... Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.  

My Thoughts: What a spin on the Cinderella Fairy Tale. A cyborg Cinderella? Holy moly did this work fantastically. You have to give credit to Marissa Meyer for thinking this up.

The plot kept me engaged and the pages turning quickly. I loved it. Cinder is a true heroine that anyone can root for. A under dog who is different and doesn't quite fit in. Of course with any retelling of Cinderella there's a shoe (or rather a foot), a charming prince & of course a ball. Toss is a step mother and step sisters and voila.

This book also dealt with relevant issues going on in our daily lives. Discrimination, the loss of loved ones, and child abuse. They're subtle background plots but are easy enough to see and contribute to the overall feeling of the story.

This is a quick and easy read due to the plot keeping you interested, so dive in and discover Cinder's world.  

5/5 stars

Book Overload!!

We're currently having a librarians reading challenge at work & just like every other year I went book bananas. I have 15 books checked out to read between now and March, that's not counting the ones that will come in on hold for me to read. Here they are:

1. Variant / Wells, Robison E.        
2. Strange angels / St. Crow, Lili.
3. The girl in the steel corset / Cross, Kady,
4. The iron queen / Kagawa, Julie.
5. Tiger's curse / Houck, Colleen.                
6. Nevermore / Creagh, Kelly.
7. Always a witch / MacCullough, Carolyn.
8. Glow / Ryan, Amy Kathleen. Details
9. The landscape photography bible / Worobiec, Tony.                       
10. Cinder / Meyer, Marissa.
11. The best of me [sound recording] / Sparks, Nicholas.
12. Magic of the moonlight / Schreiber, Ellen
13. Wonderstruck : a novel in words and pictures / Selznick, Brian.
14. Beautiful days / Godbersen, Anna.
15. Every other day / Barnes, Jennifer

 I'm cuckoo, I know it :) Go big or go home right?

Speaking of going big, my ankle is still killing me & I still can't drive. Dad's been amazing and taking me back and forth to work. Hopefully it heals quickly.

Fateful by Claudia Gray

Fateful by Claudia Gray
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Pages: 328

Synopsis: In Fateful, eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, overbearing family she works for. Once the ship they’re sailing on reaches the United States, she’ll strike out on her own. Then she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets....

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves are real and they’re stalking him—and now Tess, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

Featuring the opulent backdrop of the Titanic, Fateful’s publication is poised to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship’s doomed maiden voyage. It is sure to be a hit among Titanic buffs and fans of paranormal romance alike.

My Thoughts: I love how in the authors note section Claudia Gray says she made up some of the characters in order to be respectful to those who truly were on the Titanic and died when the ship sank. With that said, I loved this book and it's one of my favorites.

Tess and Alec's story is timeless and perfect. Tess is the kind of heroine you root for and hope for the best throughout the book. Even though a lot of reviews didn't like Tess for not standing up to the family she served, you need to realize that in the time this book was set you couldn't do that. Tess knew she had to keep a job or starve. She didn't like it anymore than we did however that was the life of most servants then. Tess is a strong female heroine and was courageous and brave when she needed to be in order to survive.

The villain was perfect in this book and made you want to kick him in the shins just like Tess did.

I loved Alec's character as much as I did Tess. You saw the toll that being a werewolf took on him and how no matter what he had to do he would do what was right. He's a stand up character and that's a plus in my book. I don't want the characters to be wishy washy or flakey.

The Brotherhood in this book is seriously scary. I love the twists with Tess's sister thrown in there and how it affected her even tho they were hundred of miles away. It made the Brotherhood seem real to the reader and to Tess.

5/5 stars

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott  
Release Date: September 15, 2011
Pages: 269  

Synopsis: Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the eerie feeling that she's not who they say she is.

Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.  

My thoughts: As I Wake was very emotional for me. I easily get attached to characters and Ava's amnesia was hard for her to handle and I could only imagine how I'd handle it.

However this book did get confusing in a few spots for me. I've read several books where the author uses italics to switch between point of views, etc. Elizabeth Scott uses italics in this book to show the reader when Ava is remembering an event. At first I had to re-read several times to try to figure out what was happening. In the end though I enjoyed the memories in the plot of the book. At first it won't make sense but then it will in the end :)

4/5 stars

Scoprio Races !

We all know I'm a fan of Maggie Stiefvaters. So here's her new trailer for her book coming out in October this year :)

THE VESPERTINE.

I wanted to share a book with you that I really am excited to read!

Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #8)

** spoiler alert ** This was absolutely my favorite BDB book. John & Xhex's story was phenomenal! These books always look extremely long but once you start them you can't put them down. I loved that we got to see part of Tohr's background along with John's dad, Darius which was also Xhex's story. It tied together well & I loved it.

I like how sneaky JR is with adding new characters all while tying them into the book's story line. You don't feel like they were thrown in there just because she needed someone else. Plus it gets you to thinking about how they're going to figure into the story in the end. I really want to read Murhder's story now!

My next book is either Spirit Bound or Dear John, decisions decisions.

Ketchup!

Remember in school when you'd have "ketchup" or catch up days? Here's the Tracy version of a ketchup blog! Work has been all consuming for me so very little has been getting read here at my house. The latest book I'm reading is:

So far this book is extremely riveting. I can't put my finger on exactly what's going on & that's a good thing. Luce has had an incident involving shadows she's seen all her life & a boy she was crushing on. They were hanging out and the next thing Luce knew that he was on fire and she couldn't stop it. Afterwards she's sent to a reform school where she meets Daniel, a guy she knows she's met before. The shadows begin showing up more & more and Luce is determined to face them this time.

I decided since I like the Vampire Diaries TV series so much I'd try reading the series by L.J. Smith.

A word to the wise, they're extremely slow! I got through the first two books before I put them down. I'll come back to them later I'm sure but for now I'm content on just watching the TV show :)

Linger.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

Sharing, is it caring?

Blogging for the last few months has been difficult, to say the least. I don't want to be a negative nanny so I just don't blog. I try to think of something I could blog about that would be interesting but I just can't. Things are nutso right now and hopefully they'll calm down soon. I just don't want to blog daily about things that have gone wrong ya know? So I just keep it off of here then it kinda looks like I've disappeared when I haven't. I'm just choosing not to throw it out there and have people think I'm a pessimist when I most definitely am not. In this case not sharing is caring :)

On another note I started reading again, I had about a month or 2 lag where I just didn't want to read anything. I do that sometimes but this was a tad longer than norm but onto the books!



Such a great book! I can't wait til the 3rd one comes out. It left you on a cliffhanger which I figured was going to happen however I loved it. This is a series that sucks you in from the first page and just won't let you go. The characters are amazing and you can't help but love them.



This is the 3rd book in the series and I just skimmed it to be honest. I was still getting out of my non reading phase and I've found myself over historical romances for the time being. I think I've just read so many of them they all seem about the same now. However with that said I love this series (LOL). The Hatahaway's crack me up. They're a family that's real & you can relate with them because they're not perfect. They're not a everyone is sunshine and roses family which I love. Each one of them have their problems and they love each other unconditionally. Definitely a good series to read!



Ah the Bride Quartet. Nora & I have been hit and miss lately so I was hoping this book was a good as the first one and it was. Four women who are best friends started a wedding planning business and each one manages something different in the business. The first book was about Mac who is the photographer of the group. This book is about Emma who is the florist find her true love.



I accidentally read this book first & it's actually book 2 of a series. Don't you hate when you do that but it seems like any book now a days is a series & I hated it until I went back and read the first book. Ha. Shame on me. tsk tsk.



I'm a huge JR Ward fan, I loved the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, however this book was just too long. It felt drawn out and I couldn't get into it at all. I skimmed through it and got the gist of the book but it just didn't grab my attention :(



This is the book before Hunting Ground & I loved it! I love Patricia Briggs's ability to make the characters seem everyday and amazing at the same time. Charles and Anna are another couple who you just want to stand up and cheer for. Can I have the 3rd one yet please? Kthksbye!

Fave children's book?

I have a question so be sure to leave comments galore! I want to know what your favorite children's book is? What did you read as child? What are you children reading now? Lemme know.

Fall is coming.

This week has been insane. The weather for the last three days have been bordering on chilly during the day & extremely chilly at night. It's the middle of August. IN MISSOURI. Are ya kidding me?! Normally the temperature is in the 100's with heat indexes out of the roof but we've hardly had any days like that. It feels & smells like fall but I'm not ready for the summer to be over. Don't get me wrong, I love snow, Christmas time & drinking lots of mint tea however I hate having the "cooped up" feeling of having to stay in the house & it blistering cold all the time. Plus I'll miss days of doing things like this:

Oh well it'll be back next year!

I recently finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I really loved the book, her writing is amazing. It's full of amazing characters who draw you into their world and make you feel every emotion as if it were yours. Sam's intensity & sadness is so palpable that you want to reach through the book and hug him. The world Maggie describes & pulls you into is one that you won't want to leave. She weaves an amazing story that leaves you wanting for more. I cannot wait til for Linger!

I also won a audio book of Shiver from Maggie's blog & if you keep an eye out in the near future you'll be able to win one too!

Ballad Trailer!

Book Review: 13 Reasons Why

Books discussed in this Video:
13 Reasons Why-Jay Asher
Time Traveler's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger
To Beguile a Beast-Elizabeth Hoyt
Shiver-Maggie Stiefvater
Lover Avenged-J.R. Ward
Smoke Jumper-Nicholas Evans

Books galore!!

Beware there's some serious book candy below.

You ready?

Are you sure?

.....

Be prepared,

are you sitting down?

No?

Ok I'll give ya a moment to get a chair...

...

...

...



This book came out 8 days ago and I've been trying to get it since! I finally had a chance to go get it today. I'm extremely excited, I loved Lament so I expect to enjoy this one too. Check out the trailer below made by the one and only Maggie Stiefvater.





The Time Traveler's Wife is one of those I picked up a few years ago but never got a chance to read it. Well it's time.



13 Reason's Why by Jay Asher was recommended to me today by a friend & let me tell you this is one of those books that you just feel you need to read.

Happy Book Hunting!

Maggie Stiefvater.

The classics.

Apparently the BBC reckons that most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.

Copy and paste - put an X next to the ones you have read.

I've read 31 of these books but with my reading the classics challenge this will help fill in the list.

1. (x) Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. () The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. (x) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. () Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. (x) To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. (x) The Bible
7. (x) Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. ( ) Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. () His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. ( ) Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. (x) Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. ( ) Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. ( ) Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. ( ) Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. ( ) Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. () The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. ( ) Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18. (x) Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. (x) The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. ( ) Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. ( ) Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. ( ) The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. ( ) Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. ( ) War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. ( ) The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. ( ) Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. ( ) Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. ( ) Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. (x) Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. ( ) The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. ( ) Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. ( ) David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. () Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. (x) Emma - Jane Austen
35. (x) Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. () The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. (x) The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. ( ) Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. (x) Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. (x) Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. (x) Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. (x) The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. ( ) One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. ( ) A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. ( ) The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. ( ) Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. ( ) Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. () The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. (x) Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. (x) Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. () Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. ( ) Dune - Frank Herbert
53. ( ) Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. (x) Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. ( ) A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. ( ) The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. ( ) A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. ( ) Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. () The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. (x) Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. (x) Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. ( ) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. ( ) The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. () The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. ( ) Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. ( ) On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. ( ) Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. (x) Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69. ( ) Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. ( ) Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. ( ) Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. (x) Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. (x) The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. ( ) Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. ( ) Ulysses - James Joyce
76. ( ) The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. ( ) Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. ( ) Germinal - Emile Zola
79. ( ) Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. ( ) Possession - AS Byatt
81. (x) A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. ( ) Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. (x) The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. ( ) The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. ( ) Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. ( ) A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. (x) Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. (x) The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. ( ) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. ( ) The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. ( ) Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. (x) The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint
93. ( ) The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. ( ) Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. ( ) A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. ( ) A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. ( ) The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. (x) Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. (x) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100.( ) Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Ok ok in response....

Most everyone's heard about the Stephen King interview where he told his opinion on several authors including Stephenie Meyer.

I have to laugh at this because it's coming from Stephen King whom I've never liked. When everyone was jumping on his bandwagon years ago I tried to read one of his books, which was a major fail. I gave it a few years and tried another one. No one around me could believe I despised his books & I still do today.

However this statement of his, "Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. ... The real difference is that JK Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good." " I both agree with and disagree with. Is JK an terrific author, nope. Can Stephenie write worth a darn? Nope.

I'm a HUGE SM fan we all know that however do I think her writing is phenomenal? No. Try listening to Twilight on tape, the woman reading the book can't pronunciate 'especially' correctly so you realize how many times SM uses it in the book. In the end it's the story I love and I think she's an amazing person.

This interview didn't really earn Stephen any brownie points with me. I think it's unprofessional to attack anyone which is essentially what he does to several authors. I understand that you have a column in a paper that you give your reviews on however it's done via constructive criticism not the way you state it in the interview. I'm all for stating your opinion but do so in a respectful manner.