Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Relase Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: Harper Colllins
Age Group: YA
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback - ARC
Source: Own
Intrest: Young Adult
Challenge: 2011 Reading Challenge, Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

"You can't touch me," I whisper.
I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.
He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.
But things happen when people touch me.
Strange things.
Bad things.
No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.
But Juliette has plans of her own.

When I started reading Shatter Me it had very high standards to live up to! I had read so many glowing reviews on this book, from fellow blogging friends to my own mother! Unfortunately for me, this book didn't live up to all the hype!

Shatter Me is a dystopian, although its unclear when it takes place or where for that matter.  It is about a girl named Juliette, who has what some people think is an ability, but she feels is a curse. Anyone she touches, winds up dead, or seriously injured! ( all depending on how long they are touched) Also, she can break through concrete walls with her firsts, which I thought was pretty awesome! Anyways, the book starts off with Juliette in an asylum of sorts. She's been locked away there to protect people from her. One day she is given a cellmate, name Adam who she is instantly attracted to. She teaches Adam the ropes and how to survive. One day armed men come to her cell and whisk her and Adam away to the Restablishment. There she finds out that Adam is not at all who she thought he was. And that the Reestablishment have other plans for her! They are planning to use her as a weapon of sorts ( think, weapons of mass destruction!) but little do they know that not everyone is affected by Juliette's touch! Soon Juliette and Adam are fighting for their lives! Unsure of who to trust, where to run, what is the truth and what is a conspiracy, and are there more people out there like Juliette? Can that even be possible? Well...you'll have to read the book if you want to find out! I don't want to give too much away!

Before I tell you what I did and didn't like about this book I will say that I recieved my ARC back in April, at that time it had a plain white cover as no cover had been chosen yet. Most of the ARCs of Shatter Me I've seen have the cover that you will see when the book is released. So that being said, my copy was such an early release of the book, quite a few things may have changed.

So starting with the cover, I LOVE the cover of the book! It looks exactly like what I would imagine Juliette to look like, long flowing brown hair, fierce looks that could kill without even her touch! What did bother me about this cover is what she is wearing, Juliette never wore anything like that in the book! She is always either in beat up clothes, mens clothes, fancy purple dresses, or purple jumpsuits. I know I know! Minor detail! I didn't care for the style of writing ( it annoyed me at times) , but again this  could change by the finished copy. I'm not sure why but I didn't particularly connect with Juliette's character, or Adam's either for that matter. I did find the plot intresting, and I liked that you jump right into the story from the first page!

For me this book didn't live up to all of the hype behind it. But since I had a very early copy, a lot of things could have changed by the finished copy. So I encourage you check this one out for yourself!

Waiting On Wednesday (1)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This is my first week participating in WOW, and I'm really excited to show you what I'm eagerly awaiting!

Parties, bad boys, speakeasies—life in Manhattan has become a woozy blur for Clara Knowles. If Marcus Eastman truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another girl so quickly? Their romance mustn't have been as magical as Clara thought. And if she has to be unhappy, she's going to drag everyone else down to the depths of despair right along with her. 

Being a Barnard girl is the stuff of Lorraine Dyer's dreams. Finding out that Marcus is marrying a gold digger who may or may not be named Anastasia? A nightmare. The old Lorraine would have sat by and let the chips fall where they may, but she's grown up a lot these past few months. She can't bear to see Marcus lose a chance for true love. But will anyone listen to her? 

Now that the charges against her have been dropped, Gloria Carmody is spending the last dizzying days of summer on Long Island, yachting on the sound and palling around with socialites at Forrest Hamilton's swanky villa. Beneath her smile, though, Gloria's keeping a secret. One that could have deadly consequences . . .

I read the first book in Jillian's series, Vixen, and I fell in love with it! I was so excited that it was going to be a series, and I have the second book, Ingenue sitting on my shelf right now waiting to be read!

You can check out my review for Vixen, HERE

The cover Dia is by far the best cover of the 3 books in the series! It is so gorgeous!!! I can't wait until this one comes out!

Don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know what your WOW pick is this week!

Bout of Books Read-a-thon

Hey Everyone!

Over the weekend I participated in my first read-a-thon and LOVED it! Unfortunatley I had forgotten about it and didn't get to participate much reading wise. So while visiting blogs, and commenting this morning I stumbled across another Read-a-thon! * cheers and throws confetti*

I LOVE Read-a-thons! I've been in a slump lately. I used to read 4 books a week, and now I've slowed down to 1. It's not because I don't want to read, I've just gotten lazy and easily distracted. I blame it on all the good tv shows that came out! I loved participating in the Dewey Read-a-thon because it totally made me consciouce of how much I was, or in my case, wasn't reading!

The thing that I LOVE about the Bout of Books Read-a-thon is that even though it is over the course of a week, you are in no way comitted to reading all day long, for an entire week! Which is perfect for people who have jobs, families, etc and can't devote entire days to reading. Read what you can when you can, its that simple! And along the way you can network and meet other bloggers, participate in challenges and enter to win some awesome stuff!

So if your like me, and your going to be reading this week anyways, why not sign up! Click on the button below to sign up and get more info about the Bout of Books Read-a-thon!

So technically the Read-a-thon started yesterday. I just found out about it today so I'm getting a bit of a late start with my starting post. ( does that sound a little bit familiar? What is it with me and being late for Read-a-thons???)  So here goes!

Time Devoted to Reading

I will be committing myself to reading the entire week. Not all in one sitting of course! I think my eyes may fall out if I did. But I will be reading throghout the week with a conscouce effort as to how much I am reading! Hence the following goals!

My Goals

• 3 books minimum. But I'm shooting for 7 .My ultimate goal is 9 books!  Can she do it? Can she??? Haha I guess we will have to wait and see!
• Comment on at least 2 participants blogs a day! 
• Make a dent in my TBR pile
• Have fun!

Books To Read

• The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
• Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
• Willow by Julia Hoban
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
• Shine by Lauren Myracle
• Amy and Rodger's Epic Detour
• Shatter Me 
• Wither
• Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
• Every You, Every Me by David Levathin
• Liesel and Po by Lauren Oliver
• Dark Parties
• The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Updates

I haven't decided yet if all of my updates will be done on this original post, or seperately. So stay tuned!

10/24

thank goodness I read yesterday! Granted I didn't read the book all in one day, but I DID finish it! So it totally counts!!!
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Today #insixwords: Carrier of the Mark was breathtaking!
Books: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

10/25

So I spent pretty much my entire day at the dentist office getting 4 cavaties filled. They were so bad I was there for 6 hours. Once all the decay was removed I virtually had no tooth left. So they had to construct a form out of a steel plate, brackets and other items, and then fill it in and go back and fine tune it. So basically I had 4 teeth gutted and then totally reconstructed. After 6 hours of that, I got home exhausted and slept for 15 hours. So...needless to say I got very very little reading done :(  
Number of books I’ve read today:  only about 15 pages. I didn't get to power through an entire book like I was hoping to do
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Today #insixwords: I'll take care of my teeth!
Books: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Carrier of the Mark

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
Relase Date: October 4, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: YA
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Own
Intrest: Young Adult
Challenge: 2011 Reading Challenge, Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon    Barnes and Noble    Book Depository    

  

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Writting this review is probably one of the hardest things I've done! This book was so amazing, I knew there was no way anything I could say about it, would do it justice!

I was really excited about this book because there was such amazing buzz about it. I finally, after searching many places, managed to snag the last copy at my bookstore. I am so glad that I did!

This book was incredible! But honestly, I'm not suprised! This book had me hooked at the cover, and just sucked me in further the more I read. It left me breathless and wanting more. I honestly, am speechless, which is rare for me!

I would have read the entire thing in one sitting, except that I got a late start in the day, and desperately needed sleep. But yes, it is THAT good! So get an early start, because it will be very hard to put this one down!

Carrier of the Mark is the story of Megan who has just moved to Ireland with her father. She adjusts really quickly to her life in Ireland, and a  close knit group of friends. She finds herself strongly drawn to the mysterious and incredibly handsome Adam De'Ris. But there is a cloud of mystery and gossip surrounding Adam and his family. Soon Megan and Adam find themselves drawn to each other, in a way that neither of them can explain. As Megan finds out more about the mystery surrounding Adam and the rest of the De'Ris family, she also begins to uncover things about herself that she never knew before! Can Megan and Adam unlock the key to the mystery that haunts them before it consumes them? Well, you'll have to read it to find out!

Leigh Fallon did an incredible job with the storytelling. I love how she got right into the story, and kept the pace going. In the begining I had a hard time keeping up with the Order, Marked Ones, Carriers, Royal Bloods, etc. But after about 30 pages I had it down and I was wondering why I was so confused to begin with! The characters were lovable, and the love story between Adam and Megan was incredible! Adam was totally swoonworthy! I think he and Megan have got to be one of my favorite couples of all time!

Carrier of the Mark is an incredible debut novel full of mystery, intrigue, a sizzling love story, action and so much more! Seriously, do yourself a favor and go buy this book right now! You will not regret it!

So click on one of the links at the top, and order your copy NOW! Are you doing it? Well...you should! 

In My Mailbox (4)

In My Mailbox is a weekly Meme hosted by Kristi the storysiren. This is where us bloggers get a chance to show you what we got this wk! Bookish related of course!

So, as some of you know (if you read the previous post/posts) my shower broke last night! :(  If you didn't read the previous post, and didn't know it, MY SHOWER BROKE! lol So, now you know!

Your probably wondering why that even matters? Am I right? Well, no shower = no bath! Which ='s no IMM Vlog this week! Which is sad because I really look forward to my weekly Vlog's! Even if no one else does! So I suppose this also includes no videos of me...playing with books this week either! I know, darn! lol

I would also like to insert here that the whole shower breaking (literally)/epic tragedy moment is all Farah's fault!!! Yep, that's right Farah, YOU! The Farah of Maji Bookshelf !!! (which is a totally cute blog btw and you should go check it out, even if Farah did totally break my shower! ) She decided to put a jinx on me via twitter last night! lol Lo and behold, half an hour later and the shower handle broke off with the water going full blast, and I was running around screeching HELP!!!! lol

Yep, there's the proof! The handle is gone. *insert sad face here* Unfortunately not only did the whole handle thingy break off, but the piece that turns the water off did too! So...that was why I was sceeching HELP!!! I was nearly about to flood the bathroom! Thankfully Dad came to the rescue! Unfortunately, because the little part that turns off the water broke off too, not even a wrench could turn the floodgates off. Yep, it was that broken! So...the holes had to be plugged, which seems to be holding temporarily. Hopefully, *fingers crossed* we can find the same exact shower part, and just replace it. If not, there was some talk of...having to rip out a hole in my sister's closet to get to the shower and rip it out and replace it. =/ So...the moral of this long story is, my shower is broken!!! Also, whatever you do, do NOT let Farah jinx you!!!

Ok now on to what I got In My Mailbox this week!

My good friend Krystal send me a copy of Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad! Yay!!!! I have the first one, so now I just need the second one to complete my collection!!!

Won

I also entered a contest and won a copy of The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson. Thank you to Jen at JenryLand  I saw Mary at the ATBF and sat in on her panel. I was dying to buy this book and get it signed, but I couldn't afford it. So yay!! Thakn you Jen! Now I just need to get my hands on the first bk and I'll be good to go!

Library

Shine by Lauren Myrcle ok first of all, Lauren is like, one of my favorite authors of all time! Seriously!!! ANd this book looks incredible!!! I wish I could do a Vlog this wk to show you all its awesomeness! But...I can't. So hopefully I can sneak it in next week!
Amy and Rodger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Bought

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

So last week I bought If I Stay at Target. Unfortunately when I went to show it on my IMM I noticed the pages were coming apart and I hadn't even read it yet. I took it back to exchange it, and...the store was out! So I got my money back and went next door to Hastings, and go the LAST copy of Carrier of the Mark, which was the book I REALLLY wanted anyways, but Target didn't have! So SCORE! Altho, now I need to acquire If I Stay again! lol

Ok so thats it for me this week! I can't wait to hear what you got in your mailbox this week! So make sure you leave a comment with the link to your IMM!

Happy Reading everyone and have a fantastic weekend!!!!

Read-A-Thon Hour 16 Mini-Challenge: Rereading

At this point in the Read-A-Thon Challenge, I am debating on whether or not to give up! Why you ask? Well...its not because I'm tired. Just because its one of those days/weeks/months where everything that can go wrong, DID!

I totally forgot I had signed up to participate in the Read-A-Thon so...I got a super late start! Like...13 hrs in. lol I had a blast starting it tho and was excited! At hour 15 I decided to go to my favorite reading spot. The bathtub! I turned the water on, filled the tub with my favorite bubble bath from bath and body works, turned on same candles and hopped in. I was getting really into my book, Carried of the Mark. My tub got to that perfectly full spot, and I reached over the bubbles to turn the water off, and the handle broke off in my hand. Yep! Thats right!

I jumped out, threw on clothes and ran for my dad before the entire bathroom flooded. Sad to say, I really broke it. As in, beyond repair and we had to shut the water off. I not only broke the handle off, I broke the little part inside the pipe that shuts the water off. So we literally had to shut the water off to get it to stop pouring out of the spout. *sigh*

So...I have in 3 hours read 102 of the 342 pages in my book. At this point, I'd be lucky to finish reading ONE book. So...I'm really debating calling the Read-A-Thon quits. I really don't want to, but...seriously? This girl just broke a shower!!! I'm thinking its time to grab a pint of ben and jerry's, pop in You've Got Mail and cry. Anyone else agree with me here???

Well...I'm still undecided. So I will say while participating in the 14th, 15th, and 16th hour of the Read-A-Thon I have LOVED it!! I learned how to do the starfish dance! I watched music videos of DollY Parton singing 9 to 5 while dancing with various Disney characters. And learned how to make an awesome oragami heart bookmarker!

So now onto the 16 hour Mini Challenge! Re-reading!

I doubt I will be able to make it through one book tonight, much less reread any books. SO here is my list of books that I could read over and over and over again!

First up, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. This has seriously got to be the most awesome book in existance! If you haven't read it yet, shame on you! You must do so, NOW! Yes, put down the bowl of popcorn, and run to the store right now and buy a copy!

Second on my list is, Impossible by Nancy Werlin. I honestly don't even have words for how incredible this book is! I read it a while back, but I really need to reread this one and do a blog post about it. This book deserves it! If you've never read it, while your out there, buying Miss Peregrine's, pick this one up too! If for no other reason than the cover is gorgeous! And...I said so!

My third pick is Jane by April Linder. This is another book I read before I started my blog, and its so good I need to go back and reread it and dedicate an entire blog entry to! This is a modern take on Jane. This book left me utterly speechles! I stayed up all night long and finished the book in one sitting! It was that GOOD! I talked about it so much, my friends all wanted to read it. So they would borrow it, and we'd text constantly going OMG Mr. Rochester just did this! OMG I know!!! His wife was totally locked upstairs the whole time!! This book got passed from friend, to friend to friend! And everyone LOVEd it! So again, BUY IT!! P.S. I have this habit, when I read books I sort of play the whole thing out in my head like a movie. Which is probably why I'm such a slow reader, anyhow..Johnny Depp totally got the part of the rockstar Mr. Rochester in my book! Soooo dreamy!!! So if you've read this book, who would you pick to play Mr. Rochester the rockstar?

Ok so, I could probably go on and on. But I will stop here. These are probably my 3 favorite books of all time! So if you havne't read them  yet, DO IT!

Dewey's October 2011 Readathon!

Ok, so quite some time back I signed up to participate in a Read-a-thon! Sounded fun at the time. And I am actually super excited about it! For personal reasons, my entire month has been, insane to say the least. And sadly I forgot all about the readathon that started...ummm 13 hrs ago. lol So I am just NOW checking my emails and realizing that it was TODAY! So...I am starting NOW! Better late than never right? You can read info about the awesome read-a-thon, rules, prizes (yes I said prizes!!!) , etc. HERE

So to start my Read-A-Thon my first book I am reading is Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon. I've heard so many great things about it and have been dying to read it! It has a totally gorgeous cover!!! I am currently on page 79 and loving it so far! If you are participating in the read-a-thon leave me a comment and let me know what books you've read, and what your reading now!

Happy Reading!


Mid- Event Survery!

1. What are you reading right now?
Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

2. How many books have you read so far?
Still working on my first one! =/ I am ashasmed to admit that! I signed up for this quite a while back and totally forgot about it :(

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
hmm...If I can finish the first one *fingers crossed* I think I will be reading....Shatter Me! It needs to be read! lol

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
The sad thing is I actually had the entire day off! I  totally forgot about this, and didn't get the email until just now! :(  I have been reading throughout the day, just...not as dedicated as I would have been if I had realized it was the day of the READATHON!!! Ahhh!! I'm so behind!!!

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
hahahaha Yes!! I have had many! I didn't realize it was the readathon today. So this morning I went out in my ministry work. Then ran errands with my mom. And then cooked and went to a picnic at a friend's house, full of food, volley ball, and pictionary . lol I did read in between everything, which is good since I forgot I signed up to participate! lol

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
Umm...that it was today! lol SUPRISE! And that so many ppl are participating! And the prizes!! Oh my goodness!!

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
YES!!! Can you pleeeease remind us more than just ONE time that its coming up! Pleeeease! I only got the ONE reminder, and don't check my email everyday so I didn't get it until today, when it was half way over. :( Otherwise I would've had my stack of books and a big pile of snacks all ready!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Well hopefully there will be more shout outs, or reminds about it. And I will have a game plan! I'm hoping to get together with some other book lovin friends, or bloggers for the next one. All camp out at my house at 7 am! With goodies, sleeping bags, etc! Sounds awesome to me!

9. Are you getting tired yet?
I'm tired, but only because I've had a full day. Not from reading lol

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?Umm...don't forget to check your email! LOL