Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday, we pick a book we're eagerly awaiting and this Wednesday, my choice is Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy.
Summary (from Goodreads):
What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you?
When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission.
Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most?
Julie Murphy’s Side Effects May Vary is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality.
Expected Publication: March 18th, 2014
Are you looking forward to this one? Let me know in the comments and link me back to your Wow this week! :)
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we'll make a list of our top ten something*, and this week, it's the Top Ten Characters I'd NEVER Want To Trade Places With.
*In no particular order
1. Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter)
He's ugly, evil, and meets a horrible end.
2. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
She's one of the best literary heroines to ever be written, but let's face it, her life sucks.
3. Hazel Grace Lancaster (The Fault In Our Stars)
I love her, but she has a shitty life too. There's no way I'd be able to handle the emotional and physical trauma she experiences throughout the book.
4. Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices)
Even though she wins the hearts of two amazingly beautiful Shadowhunters, having to deal with what she went through with her brother and her identity crisis would suck.
5. Pi Patel (Life of Pi)
Yeah, nobody would want to trade places with that kid.
6. Lucinda Price (Fallen)
Imagine loving someone as much as she loves Daniel and then have to die every time they gave in to each other? Not to mention her history, before she went to Sword & Cross.
7. Bree Tanner (Twilight)
What a poor, unfortunate character.
8. Sydney Sage (Vampire Academy/Bloodlines)
She's a great character, but her life sucks. However, I may be persuaded to trade places with her if I was promised two words: Adrian Ivashkov.
9. Clary Fray (The Mortal Instruments)
Forget the demons and Valentine; imagine falling into absolute love with someone only to find out he was your brother?!
10. Bella Swan (Twilight)
She is just so miserable and... ugh, awful.
That's all for this week guys, I hope you've enjoyed my list. Remember to leave me comments telling me which of these characters you agreed/didn't agree with and links to all of your TTTs so that I can check them out. Follow me to read my future TTTs and reviews, yo.
Just an update, also. I won't be reviewing for a while because I am currently re-reading the entire Vampire Academy series to get myself pumped for the movie! I won't be writing reviews for these books.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday, we pick a book we're eagerly awaiting and this Wednesday, my choice is Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira.
Summary (from Goodreads):
It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.
Expected publication: April 1st, 2014
Are you excited for this one? What's your Wow this week? Let me know in the comments and leave me a link so that I can check it out! :)
Title: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Year of Release: 2013
ISBN: 9781406321340
Source: Purchased (The Book Depository, $13.16)
Number of Pages: 565
Summary:
A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.
Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.
As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?
Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.
There are no words. I feel like the carpet has been pulled out from under me and I have been left lying on my back staring at the ceiling. This series has made me feel every emotion there is to experience. Love, anger, sadness, grief, happiness, hope... everything.
I'm not even sure what to say here, except that I understand why these books are bestsellers. I cannot even hope to fathom into words how incredible this book was. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more.
Even though I had predicted what would happen to an extent (you just know when two characters are meant to be together), I still felt shocked and amazed and so, so satisfied with the ending, despite the fact that it tore my heart into pieces and walked all over them in high-heeled boots.
The characters in this series are so well written and their individual developments were so perfect, it was honestly beautiful to read. The central love triangle was as fascinating as it was heart-breaking. So many courtships are tied up by the end of the book, ones I never expected, and it's impossible not to feel happy for the characters.
The plot was so well executed, the battle scenes extremely well written and everything leading up to them as well. These fight scenes were some of the best I've ever read.
Cassandra Clare is a beautiful writer, for me, she is right up there with Richelle Mead and John Green. She has a skill not many writers possess and that is that she is able to become her characters, see into their minds and write through their eyes, as they see things, instead of how she sees them. It makes the characters feel so much more real and that is something I respect in an author.
This is such an amazing series, concluded beautifully and in a way that leaves you feeing satisfied and wanting more at the same time, and I'm still trying to understand how that is possible. I can't recommend these books highly enough and I guarantee that you be disappointed for reading them.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we'll make a list of our top ten something*, and this week, it's our Top Ten 2014 Debuts I'm Excited For.
*In no particular order
1. Far From You by Tess Sharpe
2. Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
3. Bleed Like Me by Christa Desir
4. Me Since You by Laura Wiess
5. The Hit by Melvin Burgess
6. The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts
That's all for this week guys! Unfortunately I couldn't reach 10, but I'll be checking out all of your TTT lists this week to see which books I could have added. As always, I hope you've enjoyed my list, let me know in the comments which ones you're excited/not excited for and link me back to your TTT so I can check it out!
Remember to 1+ this post if you thought it was worthy and follow my blog to read my future TTTs and reviews! Thanks guys! :)
PREVIOUS REVIEW:
The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Title: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Year of Release: 2011
ISBN: 9781406321333
Source: Purchased (The Book Depository, $13.44)
Number of Pages: 502
Love and lies can corrupt even the purest heart...
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, while her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing Will - the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers to who she is and what she was born to do? As their search for the truth leads the three friends into peril, Tessa's heart is increasingly torn, especially when one of their own betrays them...
The sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Clockwork Prince is a fascinating and electrifying read that will leave you with a racing heart and eyes brimming with tears. The characters are enchanting and the plot is one of the most suspenseful and perfect ones I've ever read.
This is not just another stereotypical teen romance, because while there certainly is romance, it is only one aspect of the series. Because against the backdrop of the Tessa - Jem - Will love triangle lies secrets, betrayal, clockwork armies, enemies, blackmail, curses, demons, fatal illnesses, and finding one's identity.
You'll fall in love with the characters and feel their pain as if it is your own. You'll hate other characters and wish them a slow and painful death. You'll reminisce what it felt like to love for the first time. You won't be able to sleep because this book will keep your mind awake at night running through all the possible endings for this book and the series it belongs to.
One of the things I really love about these books is how Clare uses a piece of poetry at the beginning of every chapter that perfectly encompasses the content of that chapter in a few lines. It's beautiful and lovely to read.
The love triangle in this series is the best one I have ever read and way better than the Bella - Edward - Jacob triangle from Twilight, not just because it is better written, but because it sets a better example for young people. Instead of having the two boys involved hate each other's guts, Jem and Will love each other and wish each other's happiness over their own. That's what love is.
Another thing I love about this book is the descriptions! Clare has a way of making you see something so clearly, exactly the way she wants you to see it, from the way light streams through a window to the gushing blood of an open wound, the descriptions are perfect.
Sometimes a little too perfect, if you get what I mean.
Clockwork Prince is a fantastic book and is part of an amazing series, and I really recommend you read it!
Links:
Review: The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel
Goodreads page
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday, we pick a book we're eagerly awaiting and this Wednesday, my choice is A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey.
This book was released a day ago and was one that I had been anticipating since last year! Harvey has been one of my absolute favourite authors (and I've only read one of her books!) ever since I read Haunting Violet. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this book soon!
In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft. Beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring new underworld visible only to those with power is now open to the cousins.
But unbeknownst to them, by claiming their power, the three cousins have inadvertently opened the gates to the Underworld.
Now the dead, ghouls, hellhounds-and the most terrifying of all: the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers.
And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders...because she keeps finding the bodies.
Can the cousins unravel the clues and mystery behind their heritage and power before their gifts are stripped away ...or even worse, another witch is killed?
(Summary from Goodreads)
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we'll make a list of our top ten something*, and this week, it's our Top Ten Goals/Resolutions for 2014!
*In no particular order
1. Read!! (my goal is to read at least 20 this year)
2. Become more confident than I already am
3. Spend less time on the internet (I already know this one won't work out)
4. Find a new book series to be a part of that I haven't read before
5. Get a bookshelf (desperately need!)
6. Finish writing the story I am currently working on
7. Read more poetry (any suggestions left for me in the comments will be highly appreciated!)
8. Take more photos
9. Discover new things like music and bookstores and foods and coffees and teas and authors
10. Stress less!
So these are my goals/resolutions! What are yours? Let me know which ones you liked/didn't like on my list and leave me links to your TTT list so that I can check it out! If you want to read more of my future TTTs and reviews, please follow me and I will follow you back.
In My Mailbox is a feature hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. IMM allows bloggers to post the books they have received and share them with other bloggers. It can be done weekly, fortnightly, monthly, etc. I'm hoping to do it fortnightly! I encourage all of you to participate, it's an awesome feature!
This week, I was lucky enough to be gifted with a couple of John Green books!
(Summaries from Goodreads)
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Colin Singleton likes girls named Katherine, who have dumped him 19 times. On a road trip, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has $10K, a trailing bloodthirsty hog, and a best friend riding shotgun. His Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability should predict any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally get him the girl.
Goodreads page
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
Will Grayson:
What if your oldest, wildest, only best friend started writing a musical about your life… and it made you look like a joke?
What if the girl you didn’t think you were interested in started being interested in you?
And who is this other guy called Will Grayson?
The other Will Grayson:
What if you are technically depressed? What if you’re in love with someone you’ve never met?
And what’s the story with the guy walking around with your name?
Goodreads page
I'm so excited to read these!! Expect reviews in the following weeks!
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Every Wednesday, we pick a book we're eagerly awaiting and I've finally joined up and started participating in this weekly feature!
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare is to be released May this year and while they haven't released the official cover for the book yet, I am so excited for this book, much more than I am for any other book.
ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID.
I am coming.
Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last instalment of the Mortal Instruments series!
(Summary from Goodreads)
