Waiting on Wednesday: Touching the Surface

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

This week I picked:

Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini

Expected Publication: October 30, 2012

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.

When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

     Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

     As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.


I just discovered this book today.
And it looks like just in time to
feature it on this weeks WoW.

This one sounds really good.
It's different, unlike anything
I've heard about or read.

Have you heard of this book?
What's your week's wow?
Leave a comment & link :)

Book Review: The Walking Dead, Volume: 4 & 5

Goodreads - Amazon - Comixology

Life in the prison starts to get interesting for Rick Grimes and the rest of our survivors. 

Relationships heat up, fizzle out, and change entirely almost overnight. 

By the end of this volume, relationships between key characters are radically changed, setting the stage for future events in TheWalking Dead.

My Thoughts:
Volume 4 was good, but it kinda started to slow down. It was more soap opera-ish than anything, which I personally enjoy. I love drama. I love fighting. I love relationship problems. a lot happened, I try to keep these spoiler free just in case someone hasn't read that far yet. Or is maybe watching the show and I wouldn't want to ruin something that could happen in the show. And I don't want to give stuff away that happens in previous issues/volumes.

The plot was still good. Moved along nicely. Lots of stuff going on. Cliffhangers and all, which I do enjoy at the end of the issue. It's like little finales or something in the middle of the book. Of course there's killings and all that jazz.

By the way, Charlie Adlard is still the illustrator and Cliff Rathburn is still doing the color/shading. And both are going wonderfully. 

Goodreads - Amazon - Comixology

As the survivors settle into their prison home something has drawn them out into the open... out of the prison... out of their sanctuary. 

This is a major turning point for the overall story of The Walking Dead, setting the stage for years to come.

My Thoughts:
Well, just when you think it can't get that much crazier, it does. Volume 5 really took off. There was a huge change. They actually found another group of survivors and that doesn't go over so well, it's actually pretty gruesome. And it had me scared for the rest of the book and I'm still scared because it hasn't been resolved yet.

Lori is working my nerves. She needs to just shut up already. She is so hard on Rick all the time and always so worried. And he's just trying to build a better life for everyone and help in any way possible. And her secret. OMG, it's just painful for me to watch. I can't believe she won't just tell it already. and the whole Carol thing, like really?! Wtf was that all about? Anybody have an opinion on that?! I'd love to hear it.

I can't believe how much I'm liking this series. I've read the first 5 volumes in like 3 days. I usually get tired of stuff pretty easily. But there must be just enough crazy stuff going on and changes every volume to keep me going. I've actually already caught up to the most recent issue. I will have a review for Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life, but that will be the last. Then I'll do an overall series (so far) review. If you want to see my review of The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye, you can do so here.

Have you read any of the comics?

Only watched the show? 

You should try the comic.

How do you think the show

compares to the comics?

Have a fabulous day!

22 on 22 Read-a-Thon: Reading Goals & Update

This will be my very first Read-a-Thon, but it's for a good cause. It's Bianca's Birthday Week! It's being hosted by Alexa @ Pages of Forbidden Love. If you want to sign up, the Sign Ups are still open. 

Reading List:

Progress Updates:

Oct 22: Day 1

Pages Read Today: 88

Total Pages Read: 88

Time Spent Reading Today: 1.75 hrs

Total Time Spent Reading: 1.75 hrs

Feelings: Purity is going good. Almost done. Need to finish Shatter Me, but really want to finish it on audiobook, because that's how I started it. I just wish I could move up the waiting list at the library a little faster :)

Mini Challenge:

Today we are starting things off pretty easy with just some general questions about your reading habits:

1. What book did you start reading for this read-a-thon?

I just started Reflected in You.

Even though it wasn't on my list.

I tend to stray from TBR's.

2. What is one of your favorite books to re-read?

I haven't re-read any so far. 

But most likely:

Harry Potter #1

13 Reason Why

Beautiful Disaster

3. Do you have a strategy for read-a-thons to maximize your time?

Just my regular strategy.

Read an hour in the

morning and in the night.

4. Do you snack while reading?

It depends. Usually I don't.

Because like I said it's 

usually 6 am or 11 pm.

But if it's the daytime 

and I'm hungry. Why not?!

Oct 23: Day 2

Pages Read Today: 95

Total Pages Read: 183

Time Spent Reading Today: 1 hr 56 mins.

Total Time Spent Reading: 3 hrs 56 mins.

Feelings: Finished Purity this morning. It didn't end how I imagined, but overall it was good. Review will be up for that soon. Instead of moving on to finish Shatter Me, I decided to start listening to Reflected in You on audiobook. I was just too eager to get to that one.

Mini Challenge:

Today’s challenge is all about showing off the top book you are waiting on!

Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster Book #2

Expected Publication: April 16, 2013

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Synopsis:

Beautiful Disaster told in Travis point of view.

How much is too much to love?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. Just when he thought he was invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Jamie McGuire's New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster Abby had her say. Now it's time to see the story through Travis's eyes.

Why I can't wait:

OH EM GEE!

Seriously, I think Beautiful Disaster was the best book I've read this year! And I do believe it's my favorite book. I can't think of a book that I would want to re-read more than this one. I've told everybody I know about it. 

So for the sequel to be the same AMAZING story, but from Travis' point of view, will be really insightful. And to learn about his life even more. And really get to know him as a person. Wow! This is really going to be great. And really be one hell of a ride!

Oct 24: Day 3

Pages Read Today: 40

Total Pages Read: 223

Time Spent Reading Today: Listened for 1 hr. 3 mins.

Total Time Spent Reading: 4 hrs. 59 mins. 

Feelings: I didn't get nearly as much reading done as I'd hoped. I really need to step it up tomorrow!

Oct 25: Day 4

Pages Read Today: 44

Total Pages Read: 267

Time Spent Reading Today: 1 hr 10 mins.

Total Time Spent Reading: 6 hrs. 9 mins. 

Feelings: Still not reading as much as I need too. But tomorrow will be the day. Friday and the weekend.. I WILL read a lot!

Oct 26: Day 5

Pages Read Today: 267

Total Pages Read: 496

Time Spent Reading Today: 5 hrs. 56 mins.

Total Time Spent Reading: 12 hrs. 5 mins. 

Feelings: I really made time today for reading. I had my audiobook on my phone and took it everywhere. Listened to it in the shower, while doing blog posts, while eating and while getting ready to go see my local annual Rocky Horror Picture Show performance. I wanted to finish Reflected in You, but I was pretty tired. So I shall finish that on day 6. And find something else to start. 

Oct 27: Day 6

Pages Read Today: 42

Total Pages Read: 538

Time Spent Reading Today: 1 hr.

Total Time Spent Reading: 13 hrs. 5 mins.

Feelings: I finished Reflected in You.. I don't really know what to say about that book. I'll have my review up for that as soon as I figure out how I felt. After that I went shopping, and then came home and watched a movie, so unfortunately I didn't read any more than that yesterday. 

Oct 28: Day 7

Pages Read Today: 0

Total Pages Read: 538

Time Spent Reading Today: 0

Total Time Spent Reading: 13 hrs. 5 mins.

Feelings: I really wanted to get some reading done today, but I had to work. And after work, I was so lazy I just decided to watch a movie instead. 

Mini Challenge:

Survey:

1. What was your favorite part of this read-a-thon?

Getting to see how much I actually read.

2. Did you enjoy the mini challenges?

Yes, it gave me something else to say rather than pages numbers.

3. What was your least favorite part of this read-a-thon?

Not getting as much read as I wanted to.

4. Anything I should do differently if I were to host another read-a-thon?

No, I think it was perfect. Good job Alexa! :)

Final Thoughts:

I loved doing this read-a-thon. It was my first if you didn't already know. And it's pretty cool to try and push yourself to read as much as possible and to time yourself and keep track of page numbers. It really makes me think of how much time I don't spend on reading when I could be, because I'm not doing anything really important. Haha. 

Finished:

Happy Birthday Bianca!

Movie Review: The Lorax

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Site

Plot Summary:
A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of The Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Cast:
-Danny DeVito
-Ed Helms
-Zac Efron
-Taylor Swift
-Betty White
-Rob Riggle
-Jenny Slate
-Nasim Pedrad
-Joel Swetow
-Michael Beattie

Release Date: March 2, 2012
DVD Release: August 7, 2012

My Thoughts:
I thought this movie was completely adorable! Surprisingly I haven't read the book, but I do have a lot of Dr. Seuss books. And honestly, I didn't know the story of The Lorax, but it was really cute. I think even adults would love this movie, because I did. I got it because of my son, and I thought he would want to watch it, but I ended up watching it by myself while he was at school one day. He said "awww mom, I wanted to watch it!" So it looks like I'll be watching it again.

I haven't seen the other recent Dr. Seuss movies. Like Horton Hears a Who or The Cat in the Hat, but that's on my never ending list. I did like How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Just because it was Dr. Seuss I knew it would be good, because you can't mess up Dr. Seuss' stories! They're too good for that. So I say watch it!

Screenshots :)

Did you watch The Lorax?

What did you think of it?

Leave a comment :)

Wild for Wideacre

Wideacre by Philippa Gregory

I've always been a fan of Philippa Gregory, in fact she is probably my favorite author. So I have read several of her works including The Tudor Series and often wondered where did this passion and deftness she has in her craft come from? I had to start at the beginning. So, like any good fledgling historian I went back to the first thing she'd written. Wideacre, book number one in the Wideacre trilogy. 

The story takes place in the English countryside in the 18th century. The novel centers around young Beatrice Lacey and her family. She is part of the "quality" and her family has owned the land Wideacre Hall has sat on for generations. There are strict adherences to ones place in society during this time in England and Beatrice decides to break the rules for love. Not only her love for a certain village boy, but her love for the land as well.

Women in 18th century England did not have many rights. They could not inherit property and were utterly dependent on men for their livelihoods. Beatrice knows this reality, because she observes it with her mother and other wealthy women in her life. She is determined not to be subservient to any man and be the leader of her future. Because of this she eventually becomes obsessed with owning her ancestral home and becoming the ruler of the land and the people. She goes to great lengths to ensure that this happens and reaps the consequences of her reckless behavior. 

Philippa does a wonderful job, in her first novel as in her subsequent novels of writing in such a way that the reader becomes immersed in the world of the book. It was a joy to read and I give it five stars and recommend it for lovers of historical fiction and of course Philippa fans.

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Have you read anything by Philippa?

Did you absolutely love it?

Do you think you'll read this novel?

Leave me a comment :)

Book Review: Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan

Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan

Book #1 - Paranormals Series

Eighteen-year-old Jenny Morton has a horrific secret: her touch spreads a deadly supernatural plague, the "Jenny pox." She lives by a single rule: Never touch anyone. A lifetime of avoiding any physical contact with others has made her isolated and painfully lonely in her small rural town. 

Then she meets the one boy she can touch. Jenny feels herself falling for Seth... but if she's going to be with him, Jenny must learn to use the deadly pox inside her to confront his ruthless and manipulative girlfriend Ashleigh, who secretly wields the most dangerous power of all. 

**Not recommended for readers under eighteen.**

My Thoughts:

Holy shizzz.. Wow. I really don't know where to begin. I stumbled upon this book when I was looking for books to read for Halloween, I think it was pretty high up on one list on Goodreads. So I looked it up and read some reviews. Everyone seemed to love it. And I saw that it was free for iPad, so I thought hey, why not?!

When I started reading the book, I was really intrigued. The story line and characters seemed pretty unique to begin with. Especially Jenny, I'd never read anything like this before. So I wasn't really sure what to expect, it was a little slow getting really into the story. The plot was slowly building. I'd say for me, it really picked up about half way through.

One thing I do wanna talk about is the graphic-ness in this book. I thought it was YA. I assumed it was, but apparently not, there were only a few sex scenes, but they were way to much for YA. So, that's just a little FYI if you're a young reader. And while doing this post and reading the synopsis again, I saw at the very bottom: *Not recommended for readers under eighteen.* So I've included it in this post just so you know. 

Now onto the characters, I liked Jenny, she seemed really nice and obviously quiet since she had no friends and was picked on all the time. But she was a very good daughter, she always tried to help her dad. And later on in the book she really shows a lot of strength and development. Her character pretty much did a 180, but only in the best of ways.

Since I read this for Halloween, I thought it would be violent and deathly. And in to beginning there's not, but toward the end. Wow. Everything sort of comes out. And then the very end. Like the last 20-30 pages. Like really?! Was anybody else really shocked at that? I was so confused for all of chapter 25, like what is gong on... But overall I liked it a lot. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. And I'll definitely be reading the other books in the series.

And just a little FYI, Jenny Pox is free on almost every e-reader except Nook.

[Apple, Kobo, Kindle, Nook, Sony, Smashwords]

[Goodreads - Amazon]

Have you read it?

Plan on reading it?

You should! It's free!

Read it for Halloween!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Book Review: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. 

Why aren't they settling? Why isn't one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn't . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

My Thoughts:

I'm writing this little bit after reading the first chapter. I can already tell this is gonna be a great book and right up my alley. I can't wait to see where this goes. I'm already getting that feeling where I want to constantly read it. So I'm going to go do that.

Now I'm about half way through and I'm really liking it so far. Its very different. I am having a little trouble grasping the whole bit about how there are two people in one body. You know how when you're reading a book it just plays out in your mind like a movie. Well that little bit keeps getting me stuck. I'm not sure how to picture it. I'm trying to use special effects in my brain to help me out, so far it's doing okay, but I keep picturing a set of eyeballs inside this girls head looking out into the world through her sisters eyes. It's actually pretty creepy to think about. The characters are growing nicely and there are some suspenseful parts, I'm going to go finish it now.

So yeah. I just finished the book and wow. Just wow. It was amazing. And very confusing at times. But mostly wonderful. So from the start of the book, you know it's wrong that they're hybrid. So that kinda sets the mood for the book. It was mostly suspenseful and then at about 80% through the book, it really picks up. Everything gets crazy. All the action starts. I started getting really anxious and wanting everything to be okay.

It took me a little longer to read this book than I had wanted, but I had to take a little road trip to California. And that took several days of my time since I did most of the driving. But I really got back into it. And I'm really glad I did.

It's kinda hard to talk about this book without giving stuff away, but I'm going to try. At first I didn't like Addie. She seemed like she was kinda stuck up and better than Eva just because she was the dominant soul and could control the body when Eva couldn't. But her character really grew, as did all of the characters.

Let's talk a little about the climax and plot twist. It got crazy. I didn't expect it to be that, but it makes a lot of sense. I was really skeptical toward the end. I didn't really know how all this was going to end up.. And I was really scared there for a minute. But after that I was very pleased. I'm just wondering what the next book will hold. It closed everything off pretty nicely which I was pleased about. But it doesn't say what the future holds for them.

Overall I give it four stars. It was a really good book, but don't think it made my favorites list. It would make a really interesting movie though. And props to the author for coming up with such an interesting and original idea. And executing it very well. Go Kat Zhang!

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

So this was my first read

for Halloween this year.

You can check out my

Halloween TBR here.

What are you reading 

this Halloween?

Have you read this book?

Is it on your TBR list?

Movie Review: 35 & Ticking

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Site

"35 & Ticking" centers around the lives of Victoria, Zenobia , Clevon, and Phil -- all friends approaching the age of 35 and struggling to build the families they've always dreamed of. 

While Zenobia is still looking for a man, Victoria is married to a man who doesn't want children. Clevon, meanwhile, is too geeky to get a woman, and Phil is already married with children, but his wife is not very interested in being a mother. 

All four of them try to rectify their romantic lives and futures while their biological clocks tick away.

Cast:
-Tamala Jones
-Nicole Ari Parker
-Kevin Hart
-Keith Robinson
-Darius McCrary
-Meagan Good
-Dondre Whitfield
-Jill Marie Jones
-Clifton Powell
-Wendy Raquel Robinson
-Luenell
-Mike Epps
-Kym Whitley

Releases:
Theaters: May 20, 2011
DVD: September 13, 2011

Favorite Scenes:

-Zenobia's date..
-Colt 45.
-The house party.

-Kevin harts day dream in the bowling alley.
-Everytime Kevin Hart went to donate. 

 Reasons to watch it:

-If you love Kevin Hart.

-If you love comedies.

-If you love the all black cast.

-If you love Luenell. 

Reasons to not watch it:

-If you hate laughing.

-Hate seeing other peoples joy.

-Are racist..

-Or just a loser like that.

Screenshots :)

Have you seen it?

Did you think it was funny?

Leave me a comment.

Waiting On Wednesday: Collateral

Waiting On Wednesday #10!  "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I picked:

Collateral by Ellen Hopkins

Expected Publication: November 6, 2012

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

The gripping story of a woman torn between love for her boyfriend, a dedicated Marine deployed to Afghanistan, and the resentment she has for the war that is tearing their lives apart.

Written in Hopkins’s stunning poetic verse style, Collateral centers on Ashley, an MFA student at San Diego State University. She grew up reading books and never dreamed she would become a military wife. One night she meets a handsome soldier named Cole. He doesn't match the stereotype of the aggressive military man. He’s passionate and romantic. He even writes poetry. Their relationship evolves into a sexually charged love affair that goes on for five years and survives four deployments. Cole wants Ashley to marry him, but when she meets another man, a professor with similar pursuits and values, she begins to see what life might be like outside the shadow of war.

Collateral captures the hearts of the soldiers on the battlefield and the minds of the friends, family, and lovers they leave behind. Those who remain at home may be far away from the relentless, sand-choked skies of the Middle East and the crosshairs of a sniper rifle, but just the same, all of them will sacrifice a part of themselves for their country and all will eventually ask themselves if the collateral damage caused by war is worth the fight.

I love all Ellen Hopkins books.

So I'm sure this one will be amazing.

Also, just in time for my b-day :)

Is this on your TBR? 

My Favorite 'World Building' Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly

 meme held over at The Broke and the Bookish. 

This weeks topic is your top ten favorite authors

in a specific genre. For Example: Dystopian, 

Contemporary, Sci-Fi...

I chose dystopian, but not just dystopian, because some of my authors aren't classified as such. My selections are authors that are amazing at world building. Describing how that world works and having it flow in my head like a movie. Or when it's still our world, but society is so much different, everything is ran completely different than now. 

My choices:

Veronica Roth

Ahhh, Veronica Roth, the wonderful author of Divergent. I loved Divergent from the first few pages, I knew I was going to fall in love with it. And I did. The world that they live in is crazy, and although we don't know exactly what's going on, we will soon. Can't wait for the third and final book. 

Cat Patrick

Cat Patrick... If you haven't read Forgotten or Revived, you need to. That's need to be on your 'right after I finish this' list! She is amazing at this kinda stuff. Both are set in the present, but when you get sucked into the stories and see how differently their own personal world is... It's amazing.

Tahereh Mafi

I started reading Shatter Me and was instantly drawn in and not even really knowing why. I had heard her name thrown around, but didn't know what all the fuss was about until I actually started reading her book. It's amazing so far, it had to go back to the library, so unfortunately I didn't get to finish it yet. But I'm on the waiting list for it :)

Beth Revis

Have you read Across the Universe? If not, you should! The world Beth Revis built on Godspeed was amazing, all the futuristic-ness was wonderful! I still haven't made it around to A Million Suns, but I will. Hopefully just in time for Shades of Earth. 

Richelle Mead

I just recently read Vampire Academy and though Richelle Mead did a fabulous job. The names were a little weird, but that's all part of the world building. I loved learning about all the different Royals and levels of vampires. Definitely a really great author. Hopefully soon I'll get around to the second book. 

Suzanne Collins

Although I didn't really care for The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins is a great author. All the characters in the different districts and their different social statuses really is very creative. I will eventually finish the series, I'm just not in a rush to do so. 

Kat Zhang

Many of you may not have ever heard of Kat Zhang, but her debut novel What's Left of Me just recently came out. And I read it as fast as I could get my hands on it. The synopsis was so weird and original and extremely unique... for me. I've never heard of anything else like that. A must read!

J.K. Rowling

She wrote the wonderful, wizarding world of Harry Potter... Need I say more?!

Well, those are my picks. I only had 8. I know I didn't exactly follow the guidelines, because I didn't pick an actual genre, but they are my favorite to read in terms of world/society building.

Have you read any of these authors?

What did you think? Did you like them?

If you did a TTT, leave a link :)