Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  It's the start of a new week!  Here's my review of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.

WARNING:  Linger is the second book in The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater.  If you have not read the first book, Shiver, I highly suggest that you stop reading NOW.  Thank you!

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
 
Sam and Grace can finally be together.  But Grace can’t hide Sam from her parents, and they aren’t happy about him.  Grace is also sick.  She can’t say what it is, but every time, she reeks of wolf.  She doesn’t tell her parents that, either.
Sam has taken control of the pack.  All the others haven’t changed yet, which leaves Sam with one of the new wolves: Cole.  Sam can’t figure out what to do with him, and he still isn’t sure how he’s supposed to take Beck’s role as leader.
Isabel still hasn’t gotten over Jack’s death, and Sam’s survival.  When she meets Cole, she can’t help but be attracted to him, even though she knows she shouldn’t.  Cole can’t help but be attracted to her, either.  He became a wolf to get away, and he wants it to stay that way.
Can Grace and Sam still be together?

This is the second book of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.  I always like the second book to be better than the first, and this book did not disappoint.  If you read the Whatcha Readin’ Wednesday that said I was reading this book, you know that at first, I couldn’t form an opinion on Cole St. Clair.  Eventually I did: He’s one of my favorite characters.  There’s also a little bit of science in this book.  Well, more like werewolf science.  So when you get there, grab a dictionary.

So you know Sam’s past.  In this book, he struggles with it.  He doesn’t try to forget it--that’s impossible.  Instead he tries to cope with it, which is really hard.  Grace struggles with her parents, and when they’ve been there for her.  She loves Sam, and she’s not giving him up anytime soon.  Or, well, ever.  Then you have Cole St. Clair.  I have two words for Cole: suicidal rockstar.  As I said before, music is in these books A LOT.  Cole plays piano, and he sings.  He loves music like Sam does, and like Sam, it’s part of his escape.

In the sequel to Shiver, Stiefvater explores what it means to love, to fight for the ones you love, and dealing with grief.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia
 

Favorites Friday 1/25/13

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  It's Friday, and you know what that means!  Here's our favorites from the past two weeks:

Max:
Max's favorite from the past two weeks is The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver.  She said it's cool, even though it has a love triangle.  She's for Team Beck!  I have no idea who that is, but okay.  She gives it 4.5 stars!

Tessa:
Tessa's favorite from the past two weeks is Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. She said it's about time traveling.  She gives it four stars!

Cassia:
My favorite from the past two weeks is Everlost by Neal Shusterman.  It's about what happens to kids when they die, and ghosts.  Neal Shusterman is one of my favorite authors, and this book wasn't as good as Unwind, but it was still really good.  I give it five stars!

So those are our favorites!  I'll post another review soon!  Stay warm!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia 

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Firelight


Author: Sophie Jordan
Series: Firelight #1
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Pages: 323
Review by: Tessa

        Jacinda is a draki. That means that she is part human and part dragon. Few of them are left in the world. Even less are left of the fire dragons. Jacinda is the last fire-breathing dragon in her community. She has been practically worshipped since her father, the other fire dragon, disappeared. The survival of the community is dropped on her shoulders, along with the continuation of her talent. Jacinda has a hot temper, so when she breaks an ancient rule, the community turns against her. A mysterious stranger appears to help her, but forgets to bring her into his happily-ever-after. She may be safe, but she faces punishment from the rest of her kind.
       Then, Jacinda is forced to leave with her family to avoid the wrath of the leaders. She meets her savior, but she can't even talk to him. He is a draki-hunter--trained his whole life to kill Jacinda's people--but being with Will makes Jacinda remember what it is like to be free. Her dragon side is slowly slipping away into the depths of her soul and Will is the only one who can keep it alive. She cannot resist, and neither can he. Leaving him will kill her, but so will staying with him.

Review | Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  I hope everyone's 2013 is going well!  Guess what?  The movie for Beautiful Creatures comes out on Valentine's Day!  Based on the trailer, it looks good.

Anyway, so you know how some characters in books have nicknames?  Well, in the Wicked Lovely series, a lot of the characters do, too.  I don't always use them, but I do a lot.  Here's some that I use:
Aislinn: Ash
Gabriel: Gabe
Irial: Iri
Devlin: Dev

I'll post anymore if I think of them.  Here's my review for Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr:

WARNING: Radiant Shadows is the fourth book in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr.  If you have not read the first three, I highly recommend you stop reading NOW.  Thank you!

Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr

Hunger.  All Ani has is hunger.  For touch, and emotion.  But if she unleashes it, she becomes deadly, draining energy.

Devlin has always watched Ani, making sure she doesn't cause too much trouble.  The only reason she's alive is him.  But her hunger still grows.

Ani and Devlin shouldn't know the other exists.  But when they start to love each other, they must hide in the shadows.


This book is like Ink Exchange--more of a companion book than a sequel, but still in the timeline of events.  This goes back to the Dark Court, Gabriel, the Hounds, Iri, and Niall.  But it also goes to the High Court: Sorcha and Devlin.  Ani wasn’t supposed to live--but Sorcha doesn’t need to know that.  This book follows Ani and Dev.  They’re not supposed to love each other, or even know the other exists.

This wasn’t my favorite of the series, but it is still good, like the others.  This is Ani’s story, and you get to see more of the Wild Hunt, and how they work.  Ani is...different.  Not her personality, but species wise.  I do like her personality.  She’s loyal, like all Hounds, and is willing to do anything for those she loves, as anyone should be able to do.  She’s also restless, and she’s trouble.  She’s a halfling: Half Dark faery (Hound), and half mortal.  The Hounds have a hunger for touch--they need it to survive.  Ani has that hunger.  She also has the hunger for emotion that the Dark Court has.  And nobody, not even Iri, can guess why or knows why.  These two hungers together, and you get someone that can literally suck the energy out of people.  Dev is Sorcha’s Bloodied Hands.  Basically, he does her dirty work.  He was created from Order and Discord (Sorcha and Bananach), and therefore is loyal to both.  I like him, but he’s very confused at times about what to do.

In the fourth book in the Wicked Lovely series, Marr explores what you can or are willing to give up, embracing yourself, and, once again, love.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate
By Jodi Meadows
Review by Max

Ana's a new soul. Now, that might seem normal here, but in a world where the youngest soul (besides Ana, of course) is at least thousands of years old, it's kind of a problem. A big one. Her "dad" is dead, her "mom" hates her guts, and her existence is totally unexplainable. What's a girl to do?
Run away, of course.
As soon as Ana's old enough, she leaves for the Heart, to find anything she can about her own existence and another soul's, Ciana's, disappearance.
Instead, she finds something else. A person something. A boy something. Sam.
And, of course, complications arise. Including the fact that he's like a million years old (almost literally) except in body, and she's seventeen.

Max's Quotes!

Hiya! Max here. It's (finally) my turn to post some favorite quotes! And I get the funny ones!
Since it's the first time and all, I'll just post some from my absolute favorite books. Ready?

"Holy [insert swear word of your choice here]!"

Said by Fang from Maximum Ride (Book one, The Angel Experiment) by James Patterson, this cracked me up.

" 'We came to see Jace. Is he alright?''
'I don't know,' Magnus said, 'Does he normally just lie on the floor like that without moving?'"

I think he was alright in the end. From City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare in the Mortal Instruments series.

" 'Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing.'
'Well,' he says, 'I would only go if there was cake.'"

Four and Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth.

There's a lot more, but I don't write them down, so I have to search the deep dark depths of my memory *shudders* SO MANY MATH FORMULAS!
Anyways, that's it, guysies!
Happy week!

Fly on,
        Max

Whatcha Reading Wednesday 1/16/13

Hola people of the internet! Max here, with your favorite web-feature (sorry Tessa and Cassia, but you know it's true)....Whatcha Reading Wednesday! Are y'all prepared for it's eternal and everlasting awesomeness?

Max
The Host by Stephanie Meyer. It's confusing, and Meyer doesn't really understand the concept of show vs. tell, but otherwise, it's almost good!

Tessa
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier, about time travel and whatnot. She says it's just a tiny bit confusing.

Cassia
Everlost by Neal Shusterman. She just finished the second book in the Unwind series, UnWholly, by the same author.

And that' it, everybody! Happy week!

Fly on,
    Max

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  Happy Monday!  Well, not really because I hate Mondays.  Anyway, here's another review!  A note about Maggie Stiefvater...I could never figure out how to pronounce her last name.  So I went to her website (click it) and went to the FAQ.  Turns out it's pronounced Steve-Otter.  You know, the name, and the cute little animal.  Here's my review of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
 
Grace has always loved the wolves--even after they attacked her.  Especially her yellow-eyed wolf.  She can’t explain why, but she feels attracted to him...especially when a yellow-eyed boy appears in Mercy Falls.  Surely they can’t be the same person?
 
Sam has watched Grace from the woods ever since he was a wolf.  But when Sam finally talks to Grace, he never wants to be a wolf again.  Can he stay human?

This is now one of my favorite books, and trilogies.  So, werewolves.  Full moon, human turns into wolf, blah blah blah.  Yeah, well not with this book.  In this book, werewolves change by the season.  In the winter, they’re a wolf.  In the summer, they’re human.  But, after 20 or so years of changing back and forth, they stop, then live the normal life span of a wolf in the wild (15 years), and then die as a wolf, if not shot before then.  This book takes place in Mercy Falls, Minnesota, which is a fictional town in Minnesota, but if you read the acknowledgements in the back, there are actually wolves in Minnesota, just not werewolves. ;)
 
This book is a love story.  A beautiful love story, and I consider the conflict man vs. nature.  Why?  Well, Grace and Sam are fighting against...I guess you would call it ‘werewolf nature’.  Sam and Grace are perfect for each other.  Grace is probably one of my favorite characters--she’s sensible, loyal, and can lie her butt off when she wants to.  Sam is...I love him.  So, you probably know I’m a music person.  Music is so present in this book, it’s almost like another character.  Maggie Stiefvater is a musician herself, and it’s evident in how she writes about it, and even when she goes into guitar-speak.  Back to Sam.  Sam loves music and poetry, especially German poetry.  He plays guitar, sings (and he’s GOOD), writes his own songs, and--get this-- he thinks in song lyrics!  So, naturally, I love him.
 
I love this book, and all of its characters.  Stiefvater explores just how tight the bonds of family are even if you’re not related, true love, and fighting to stay with the people you love.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves music, and even if you don’t like fantasy, you should definitely read it.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia

Favorites Friday 1/11/13

Hey everybody!  I know it's Saturday.  Sorry I forgot yesterday!  Anyway, happy new year!  Let's do this!  Here's our favorites from the past two weeks:

Max:
Max's favorite from the past two weeks is Incarnate by Jodi Meadows.  She says it's about reincarnation and butterflies...interesting if you ask me.  She gives it four and a half stars.

Tessa:
Tessa's favorite from the past two weeks is Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz.  She says it's about a girl who is doomed to die when she meets her true love and they have to break the curse.  She gives it five stars.  I'll have to read it... It also sounds like my favorite from the past two weeks...

Cassia:
My favorite from the past two weeks is The Raven Boys by--one of my favorite authors--Maggie Stiefvater.  This book is kind of like Tessa's favorite: When Blue kisses her true love, he will die.  Stinks, right?  So she vowed that she would never kiss anyone.  I give it five stars!

Well, those are our favorites!  Sorry again about being late.  I'll have another review up soon!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia 

Favorite Quotes: Cassia Edition

Hey guys! Max here! Sorry we haven't posted Whatcha Reading Wednesdays in a while! I'm terrible at remembering things. In apology, I'm posting Cassia's quotes! Enjoy!
By the way, guys, my quotes get to be the funny ones :D!

Hey everbody!  Now it's my turn to share some of my favorite quotes!  As Tessa explained, my quotes will be philosophical.  Here's my catch, though: they're all from book characters, or they're song lyrics.  So here's my favorite quotes:

"We are what we are, Niall, neither as good or as evil as others paint us.  And what we are doesn't change how truly we feel, only how free we are to follow those feelings."
~Irial, Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

If you think about it, this quote (above) applys not just to Marr's Faery Courts, but to real life.

"Viva la Vida"
~Coldplay

This is actually a song title.  "Viva la vida" means "live life".  Get how it's philosophical now? ;)

"I'm not angry, I'm just saying
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance"
~Shinedown, "Second Chance"

I like this one.  Sometimes saying goodbye to something does give you a second chance at something else.

"So live it like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your whole life"
~Nickelback, "If Today Was Your Last Day"

I agree with the whole song.  You got one shot, people.  Make it count.

"'Is this thing safe?'
'Safe as life.'"
~Blue and Gansey, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

This is between Blue and Gansey in Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys.  They're getting into Gansey's car, which can barely run and will tip over or break down at any moment.  I agree with Gansey: nothing is truly safe.

Those are some of my favorite quotes!  I'll try to get more book character quotes next time!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  Do you like the favorite quotes from Tessa?  Well guess what?  Soon the Cassia edition will be coming!  I'll have it up soon, I promise!  So how many of you have heard of the movie I Am Number Four?  Well, there's an awesome book that goes with it.  The movie was great!  Alex Pettyfer plays Four, otherwise known as John Smith...which I was extremely happy about!  Anyway, here's my review for I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore:

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

The Mogadorians want to take over the universe.  The only thing standing in their way is the Lorien Garde.  The Garde look like us, talk like us, and even act like us.  Except they’re from a different planet-- Lorien, one of the 18 planets able to sustain life in the universe. The Mogadorians attacked Lorien, nearly destroyed it, and killed all its people-- except nine Garde and their Cepan.  The charm that protects the Garde makes it so that they can’t be killed out of order.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

Number Four is next.

Where will he hide?

This book is about the struggle between the Mogadorians and the Lorien Garde.  Specifically Number Four.  You get to know him as John Smith.  Yes, it’s about aliens, but cool aliens.  Not the typical Martian thing.  Also, Pittacus Lore is a pen name for James Frey and Jobie Hughes.  This book is also a movie, so if you’ve seen the movie and want to read the book, the book is better.  But then again, the book is always better.  Actually I think the movie is the closest adaptation of a book I’ve ever seen, so I was very impressed by the movie.

John Smith (aka Number Four) has hid his whole life, so he gets a little frustrated when he can’t make friends, which makes sense.  I do like him, though.  There’s also his Cepan (or protector), Henri.  John loves Henri and respects his decisions about where they go, but he’s tired of hiding.  The whole foreign planet thing is pretty cool, too.  It’s explained a lot in the beginning, so you don’t have to wonder about that a whole lot.

For you action lovers, this book is perfect.  There’s a lot of action, and even a little bit of romance, too.

Four stars!

Goodbye for now,

Cassia

Review | The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

The Name of This Book is Secret


Author: Pseudonymous Bosch
Series: Secret #1
Release Date: October 1, 2007
Pages: 364
Review by: Tessa
      
       This book is was created for a middle school audience, but the riddles and mysteries in this series can be enjoyed by any YA lover.
       *WARNING*
        The only thing worse than not knowing a secret is knowing a secret.
         Cass and Max are unlikely friends, but they both have one thing in common--they love mysteries. When they discover a "dead" magician's journal they are swept up in a mystery of epic portion. Something is stolen, and they must get it back, for the world depends on it. They encounter crazy carnies, a Symphony of Smells, a blind dog, and a secret society hunting for immortality. Their lives are constantly in danger, and yours will be too, because you can never forget a secret.

Favorite Quotes

Hey everyone! This is Tessa and I have something special for you! I want to keep the blog interesting, so I am going to share some of my favorite quotes with you (and of course they're all about or from books). Cassia and Max will get their chance too, but I wanted to be the first. My quotes are generally inspirational, Max's are funny, and Cassia's are philosophical.
I am going to start with some general quotes about books.
"One can never read all the books in the world, nor travel all its roads."
       -Unknown
       I consider this a challenge.
"A man learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people."
       -Will Rogers
       I do both.
"There is creative reading as well as creative writing."
       -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"You have to be a speedy reader because there's so much to read."
       -Dr. Seuss
       You are never too old for Dr. Seuss.
"We read to know that we are not alone."
       -William Nicholson
       I enjoy the company of fictional characters.

                                                                                        Happy New Year!
                                                                                            -Tessa