Sunday Weekly Update #10

New Books:

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I received this book FREE as an audiobook from Sync. It's available till May 28!

Summary: Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1) by Jennifer Estep

Summary: My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy; a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why; especially since I should have been the one who died...

The Rules for Disappearing (The Rules for Disappearing #1) by Ashley Elston

Summary: She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge

Summary: A romantic and fantastical reimagining of the classic Cinderella tale, Gilded Ashes is a novella by Rosamund Hodge set in the same world as the author's debut novel, Cruel Beauty.

Orphan Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings pain: Her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia's father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, yet she always spurns them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.

Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. What's the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl just so she'll pretend to fall in love with him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.

As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia, who was asked by her eldest stepsister to deliver letters to Anax. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn't believe in love. Anax can't help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can't help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?

HarperTeen Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

Read:

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Summary above under new books

Currently Reading:

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Summary: Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home from the Great Barrier, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected -- and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What -- or who -- will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it's not Lena -- and the mysterious figure is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself -- forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and he's afraid to ask. 

Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

I wanted to finish this book this week, but I ended up getting really into Cruel Beauty and unintentionally took a break from this book. I'm starting up again where I left off though, and am crossing my fingers I finish this week! I have a busy two weeks ahead of me and then I hope to get to read a lot over the summer!

Most Likely to Read Next:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Though I've already read this book, it's been nearly two years, and with the movie coming out I definitely want to read it again!

Review: City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

Paperback; 424 pages

Published by Margaret K. McElderry on October 2, 2012 (first published on April 5, 2011)

Rating: 3 stars

Summary (Goodreads): The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

The stakes are higher than ever in the #1 New York Times bestselling fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series.

My Thoughts: 
I honestly went back and forth with this book. I both enjoyed it and didn't enjoy it. 

In the beginning, the story started out strong and held my interest rather well. As the story progressed however, it slowly started to disappoint me. I just wasn't interested in the direction Clare wanted to bring this story. I believe the decline really started to show around the halfway point of the book.

With the different perspectives of each of the characters, there was able to be several different stories that were all connected but also separate. I enjoyed this, because when I wasn't enjoying a perspective of one of the characters, I knew that soon enough I would be back with another.

When the book starts out, I enjoyed everyone's perspective. I didn't care much for one thing Simon was doing that Clary knew about, but that's not something that would make me dislike the story or anything at all. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading about Simon and his life now as a vampire, even though he was trying to be as normal as possible. I also really enjoyed reading from Clary's perspective and seeing her training, as she is now going to be a shadowhunter. Jace's perspective was interesting as well, as he has issues he is personally dealing with that revolve around his family.

Then comes his dreams.

I didn't like this part of the book at all. It made me kind of sad, because I really like reading about Clary and Jace, but in this book I found myself dreading their sections in the book. I just didn't like the plot that Clare was making between them, and I didn't like how Jace didn't want to tell Clary what was wrong. That's literally the worst thing you can do, not tell someone what is wrong when there is something going on, and then start to completely ignore and avoid them. It just really annoyed me.

I will say this though, while it did annoy me when it came to Jace's actions, I did enjoy having him around when I was reading about Simon. When the story wasn't filled with Jace's angsty problems, I found myself liking what I was reading. Even when things like Jace's appearance were brought into play and the issues that came from that, when it wasn't from his perspective I didn't mind it much.

Simon really was the only person that kept me happy with this novel. His storyline was more captivating to me since he was learning more about the consequences of being a vampire, and he also was learning the consequences about the mark of Cain that Clary placed on him. The mark was really interesting to me, and while it was awful how it worked, I also found myself fascinated with it. 

Really I don't know what direction I should take this review in. By the end of the book, I felt like I was going to be happy with the turn of events, as it began to go in a direction I liked, but then, in the final pages, that was squashed. I don't like the way the series seems to be going, but we'll have to see. My close friend told me she loved the fifth book, so I'm hoping I do as well. I also don't want people to think I disliked this book, I did enjoy the read at some points, but I didn't like not being happy with the turn of events the way I was. Either way, Simon was the saving grace of this novel and I hope to see more of him in the next book!

★★★

Waiting on Wednesday #7

City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6) by Cassandra Clare

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Summary: 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 installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

Top Ten Tuesday #7

May 20: Ten Books About Friendship

1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - I love the friendship between Lissa and Rose! It was nice that it was a large focus in the series
2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Zuzana is definitely one of my favorite characters, and I love how she balances Karou. 
3. Harry Potter by J K Rowling - Do I really need to say it? Harry, Ron and Hermione have such a lovely friendship, and while they have bumps and rough patches, they are always there to help one another out in the long run
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak- Rudy and Max. I love their friendships with Liesel!
5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - I love Blue and the Raven Boys! Their friendship is amazing and so well written
6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - From what I've read so far in the series, I love the friendship between Ethan and Link! It's nice to see things from the guys perspective in these books
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - I love how the friendships between Charlie and Patrick and Sam go!
8. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare - I loved the relationship between Clary and Simon!
9. Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout - Dee and Katy are so cute together. I loved how happy Dee was to be friends with Katy
10. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare - I've only read the first book, but I love the friendship between Will and Jem!

Sunday Weekly Update #9

New Books: 

The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas

Summary: Contains all five novellas.

Celaena Sardothien is Adarlan's most feared assassin. As part of the Assassin's Guild, her allegiance is to her master, Arobynn Hamel, yet Celaena listens to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. In these action-packed novellas - together in one edition for the first time - Celaena embarks on five daring missions. They take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, where she fights to liberate slaves and seeks to avenge the tyrannous. But she is acting against Arobynn's orders and could suffer an unimaginable punishment for such treachery. Will Celaena ever be truly free? Explore the dark underworld of this kick-ass heroine to find out

All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack

Summary: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.

In Texas, two things are cherished above all else—football and gossip. My life has always been ruled by both.

Dallas Cole loathes football. That's what happens when you spend your whole childhood coming in second to a sport. College is her time to step out of the bleachers, and put the playing field (and the players) in her past.

But life doesn't always go as planned. As if going to the same college as her football star ex wasn’t bad enough, her father, a Texas high school coaching phenom, has decided to make the jump to college ball… as the new head coach at Rusk University. Dallas finds herself in the shadows of her father and football all over again.

Carson McClain is determined to go from second-string quarterback to the starting line-up. He needs the scholarship and the future that football provides. But when a beautiful redhead literally falls into his life, his focus is more than tested. It's obliterated.

Dallas doesn't know Carson is on the team. Carson doesn't know that Dallas is his new coach's daughter.

And neither of them know how to walk away from the attraction they feel.

Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1) by Pierce Brown

Summary: The war begins...

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda...

Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

Summary: Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She'll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father's French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami's family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian's all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami's starting to feel. And Cami can't stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He's got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated….

Read:

This week was so busy for me, so I haven't even had a chance to finish Beautiful Chaos yet! Hopefully I'll be able to finish it this week, but who knows, the next few weeks will be packed with schoolwork for me since it's the end of the year and I'm graduating (and I have two less weeks than expected to get everything done and turned in, so I have a lot more to do in a shorter amount of time). I can't wait for June 5 to finally be here and for my summer to start!

Currently Reading: 

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Summary: Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home from the Great Barrier, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected -- and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What -- or who -- will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it's not Lena -- and the mysterious figure is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself -- forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and he's afraid to ask. 

Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

SPECIAL BONUS: Includes "Dream Dark," a thrilling short story set before Beautiful Chaos. When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But he had no idea it would change his life forever.

Most Likely to Read Next:

All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack

Summary above under New Books

Review: Night of Cake and Puppets (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2.5) by Laini Taylor

Night of Cake and Puppets (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2.5) by Laini Taylor

ebook; 89 pages

Published by Little, Brown Books on November 26, 2013

Rating: 5 stars

Summary (Goodreads): In Night of Cake & Puppets, Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Told in alternating perspectives, it’s the perfect love story for fans of the series and new readers alike. Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

My Thoughts: 

Oh my God I loved this ebook to pieces! It honestly is so cute and amazing. I would love for a first date to be like this (no matter how unrealistic its possibility really is!). 

I love the alternating point of views and the uncertainty each one of them feels even though they both clearly like one another. Zuzana is the same spit-fire girl she always is, but she is still so sweet as well and I honestly love her idea of making a treasure map to herself. It was so clever!

Mik is also interesting to read about, and it's cool to see the way he reacts to all of the things Zuzana does for him, especially since she has some magic to use. I love how, even though the night was supposed to be a bunch of surprises for him from Zuzana, he jumps at the chance to make a surprise of his own, even if it's last minute and he has to think on his toes.

There's honestly not much to say about this because it's just a short little story, but it was so magical! Even the parts without the magic. I was so curious to see each new event unfold, as Zuze and Mik both were as well.

I also really love the way that Zuzana relies on texting Karou and seeing their interactions because it's so normal, even though Karou is supposedly in South Africa looking for wishes. They just show such an amazing friendship, and you can really see how they help one another out no matter what it's about. 

Overall, this is not a necessary story to read in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, but it is definitely a memorable one that I'll no doubt be rereading in the future! It adds a new perspective to Zuzana and Mik and makes my love for their characters so much more than it was before, even though I didn't think it possible!

★★★★★

Waiting on Wednesday #6

Dangerous Creatures (Dangerous Creatures #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release Date: May 20, 2014

Summary: From the world of Beautiful Creatures-a dangerous new tale of love and magic.

Ridley Duchannes is nobody's heroine. She's a Dark Caster, a Siren. She can make you do things. Anything. You can't trust her, or yourself when she's around. And she'll be the first to tell you to stay away-especially if you're going to do something as stupid as fall in love with her. 

Lucky for Ridley, her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley "Link" Lincoln, never listens to anyone. Link doesn't care if Rid's no good for him, and he takes her along when he leaves small-town Gatlin to follow his rock-star dream. He teams up with a ragtag group of Dark Casters, and when the band scores a gig at a hot Underground club, it looks like all of Link's dreams are about to come true. 

But New York City is a dangerous place for both Casters and Mortals, and soon Ridley realizes that Link's bandmates are keeping secrets. With bad-boy club owner Lennox Gates on her heels, Rid is determined to find out the truth. What she discovers is worse than she could have imagined: Link has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay. With their lives on the line, what's a Siren to do? 

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of the Beautiful Creatures novels, are back to cast another magical spell. Their signature blend of mystery, suspense, and romance, with a healthy dose of wit and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

I haven't finished reading the Caster Chronicles, but since this is a part of that world, I know that I'll want to read it! I also have been given a preordered signed copy as a gift, which is exciting!