BOOK REVIEW: Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes #2) by Sara Raasch

It's been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring's king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell. Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria's lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm's secrets, Meira plans on using the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?

This was such a disappointing sequel. I am glad other reviewers warned me about the incredibly slow pacing of this one. I spent most of the book waiting for SOMETHING to happen. Meira was on the hunt for keys in different kingdoms that would open the magical chasm. For such an important mission, there was no action at all. Most of the book involved a lot of whining from Meira about being Queen. God, if I took a drink every time she referred to herself as two different people (Queen Meira and old Meira), I would have been drunk so fast. Yeah, yeah . . . I get it. You're Queen and you hate it. The ironic part is that I believe she spent most of the first book complaining to Sir that no one took her seriously and she wanted to help and wanted more responsibility. Then when she gets it, what does she do? Complain ALL THE TIME. I guess the grass is always greener and all that.

Also, I had trouble keeping track of all the characters. There were so many characters that were major players in this book and it was hard for me to tell the difference between the ones already in the first book and the new characters from this one. There were so many names thrown around and I was having trouble keeping track of the good guys and the bad guys. I do know that I loved one new character, Ceridwen. She is the Princess of Summer and I really wish we had gotten a few chapters from her POV. Meira was so freaking whiny and Ceridwen seemed like a total bad ass who did what was necessary without talking it to death.

Can I say how much I HATED Theron in this book?? Like seriously, hated him. And this is surprising since I like him so much in the first one. I thought the love triangle thing was kind of done because she was with Theron. But then she kept being torn about Mather (whom I loved). Theron was naive and I was so sick of hearing him defend his father. But what really irritated me was that when Meira was upset and they were fighting, he responded by kissing her. I freaking hate that. I feel like that is a condescending and patronizing way to try to end an argument with a woman and I really wish the author could have resolved their fights without that stupid ploy. Because of course, after Theron kissed her, Meira couldn't help but stop yelling at him . There were a few choices the author made about Theron at the end of the book that I just don't agree with. But I guess it makes for good story. I can try to reserve judgment until I read the next one. I will see where the author goes with it.

At around the 70% mark, that is when stuff finally started happening and that is when I actually became engaged in the book. There were quite a few twists and turns and so much violence. There were a few things I kind of expected, but most of it was somewhat surprising. Even though most of this book was a bit disappointing, I will still read the next book. The ending of this one was so good. The author succeeded in making me want to read more!

Buy/Borrow/Skip: If you feel the need to own the whole series just because, then I am sure you will want to buy it. But honestly, I would just recommend buying it. 

BOOK REVIEW: Dead Ringer by Jessie Rosen

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is November 11, 2015.

From the moment Laura Rivers steps foot into Englewood High, she notices the stares—and they aren’t the typical once-overs every pretty new girl endures. The students seem confused and…spooked. Whispers echoing through the halls confirm that something is seriously off. “That new girl looks just like her,” they say. It turns out Laura has a doppelgänger, and it isn't just anyone—it's Sarah Castro-Tanner, the girl who killed herself by jumping into the Navasink River one year ago. Laura is determined not to let the gossip ruin her chances of making a fresh start. Thanks to her charming personality and California tan, she catches the eye of Englewood’s undisputed golden boy, Charlie Sanders, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their relationship official. But something is making Charlie and his friends paranoid—and Laura soon discovers it has to do with Sarah Castro-Tanner. What really happened to Sarah? Why is Charlie unraveling? And how does Laura Rivers fit into it all After all, she’s the dead ringer for a dead girl.


It is so frustrating to go from reading a book that moved me to tears to reading a book that made me roll my eyes about a thousand times. I would like to say that the book was doomed because I read it after an amazing one, but I am pretty sure I would have had these issues about the book anyway. There were three POV's in this book: Laura, Charlie, and Sasha. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters. And there was zero character development. Everyone was rich (seriously, how much money did these kids have???) and everyone was beautiful and everyone was obsessed with popularity. Boring. Oh, and where were the parents in all this?? They were nowhere. Laura had some stupid excuse about why her parents were never around, Sasha had one or two conversations with hers and Charlie's mom was nonexistent until he got in trouble. Then she yelled and was never seen again. Yeah, just another case of absentee parents in YA literature. Laura and Charlie were both just boring. Laura spent all her time swooning over Charlie and trying to find out whether he was with Amanda or not. Charlie spent all his time freaked out that someone would figure out what he and his friends did to Sarah. I did NOT like that he kept calling Sarah "crazy" and "a freak." Something is revealed about his history with her and I do understand why he was upset with Sarah. But I still don't understand why her actions caused him to think she was such a mental case.

Okay, let's talk about Sasha; she was a FOURTEEN year old world class hacker. She was able to hack into every single computer and cell phone in the ENTIRE town of Englewood and she kept tabs on all their conversations. That was so crazy unrealistic. Yeah, she's in ninth grade and has the hacking skills of a forty year old. Sure, whatever. Sasha was obsessed with Sarah's suicide and finding out if it was even a suicide at all. We don't find out why she is so obsessed until later in the book, but it wasn't much of a surprise. 

So the aforementioned fourteen year old hacker posts an anonymous message on the town's social media page that she knows Sarah Castro-Tanner didn't commit suicide, she had evidence she was going to let the police figure out on their own and they should start at the high school. So with this ANONYMOUS message and NOTHING ELSE, the police decide to reopen the investigation AND question every single student at the school. WTH?? Since when would police reopen an investigation based on an anonymous message? They literally had no evidence that Sarah was murdered. And then when the police were questioning Charlie, the stupid detective said that he was trying to figure out why Sarah killed herself. Okay, so make up your minds, police: is it murder or suicide? And since when do police actually care about why a person commits suicide? Answer: They don't. Not ever. It's not their job. God, this made me so mad. 

There was a twist towards the end of the book that honestly made me feel lied to and cheated. It was something I had considered earlier in the book, but then certain things in the book would lead me to believe it was not possible. And then there was a whole subplot about a teacher and a student that didn't need to be there and didn't go anywhere either. The main reason I kept reading this book was because I wanted to see how everything would end. Well . . . it sucked. First of all, it was a cliffhanger. Argh!! I hate going into a book thinking it's a stand-alone and then dealing with a cliffhanger. And everything leading up to that was crazy unrealistic and borderline ridiculous. Honestly, it kind of reminded me of a made for TV Lifetime movie.

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Please just skip this one!

BOOK REVIEW: Hardwired by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date is November 8, 2015.

When seventeen-year-old Lucas Marshall tests positive for the M0A1 gene—a genetic abnormality believed to predispose humans toward violence—he is shipped off to an impregnable government facility to undergo a battery of psychological tests aimed at making him crack. Now, having survived their tests and proven his mental stability, Lucas is labeled safe to return home. But any hope Lucas has of returning to a normal life is shattered when the van transporting him to the reintegration facility is forced off the road by a group of radicals intent on accessing the facility and exposing it's dehumanizing practices. And Lucas is their ticket through the front door.

I am kind of disappointed that this one wasn't any better because it had so much potential. Some scientist discovered a genetic abnormality that can tell people whether you have a predisposition to criminal behavior or not. A law is created that says citizens must get the test for this gene on their seventeenth birthday. If they test positive for the abnormality, they are sent away to a facility for a round of tests to determine how well they can adapt to society. At least, that is what the government tells people. The tests the patients go through are basically tests designed to incite a response and to get them to crack. They are treated like criminals because of this abnormality in their gene. Everyone looks at them with suspicion and fear. Lucas and Chris are roommates and best friends. They are determined to make it through the tests so they can go home. Lucas's brother had gone through the same tests years before, but he had killed himself a couple of weeks after coming home. Lucas is determined not to break like that.

This premise was a little misleading. The premise suggests that Lucas and Chris meet up with a group of people who want to break into the facility to expose it to the world. That would have been a lot more interesting. No, this was about a girl (Carly) who wanted to break her brother out of the facility. That's it. Yes, these people wanted the facility destroyed, but that wasn't their goal. Carly is Lucas's brother's girlfriend's sister (whew!) and Lucas feels responsible for her. Carly's brother was in the facility and she wanted to break him out. I had to roll my eyes at Carly and her gang of rebels. They wanted to bust into the facility with an electrified fence and guards with rifles. And what did they have? Axes and baseball bats! They didn't even do enough research to get the right clothes! So they were going to break into this facility without getting themselves killed, despite the fact that they had NO clue what the inside of the place looked like or where they were holding her brother. When Lucas tried to point out the absurdity of their plan, Carly just rolled her eyes and ignored him. It was never really clear how old Carly was either. Younger than seventeen since she had never had the test, but I wasn't sure if she was 14 or 15 or what. Lucas and Chris seemed like smart guys, but their plan to break into the facility wasn't that much better.

One of the issues I had with this book was that the author did not explore the ramifications of this genetic abnormality and the forced testing more. I mean, it could have been a nature vs. nurture type thing. Everyone assumed that the genetic abnormality meant you were sure to turn into a criminal. But the testing itself seemed to produce criminals or suicidal behavior. And all of society seemed to shun the guys who tested positive. There was brief mention that criminal behavior hadn't decreased at all since the testing started, but then it was forgotten. It was also interesting that only one girl out of thousands had tested positive for the abnormality. There were so many ethical issues to be explored. Instead, we got a story about a group of people trying to break someone out.

The events of the evening do still make for interesting story though. I found myself literally biting my nails to see if Lucas, Chris and Carly would make it out with Carly's brother. There were doe twists and turns and tons of violence. I thought this was an okay book with great main characters. I would have loved for the author to focus more on the ethical implications of everything, as well as the friendship between Lucas and Chris. It isn't often that we see a well-written friendship between two men in YA fiction. Oh, and I thought the epilogue was useless and I wish it wasn't there. 

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Not sure I would recommend this one. It was just okay. I would say to just skip it. 

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Debut Authors That Need To Write More Books!!!

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. They feature a different top ten list every week. This week's topic is debut authors that need to write more books ASAP!!

1. Katja Millay - Katja came out with her debut novel, Sea of Tranquility, THREE years ago and I have been desperate for more books from her ever since. I read this book for the second time last month and it was as beautiful as I remembered. She needs to do more!!

2. Leah Thomas 

3. Louise O'Neill - I know she has already came out with her second book (Asking For It) and I desperately need to get my hands on it. Only Ever Yours was one of my favorite books this year!

4. Francesca Zappia

5. Adam Silvera

6. Sabba Tahir - Sequel comes out in 2016!

7. Cordelia Jensen

8. Stephanie Oakes - She has another one coming out in 2016!!

9. Amy Zhang

10. Caroline Kepnes - It's no secret this was a favorite of mine. SO EXCITED FOR THE SEQUEL!

What debut authors would you like to see more of? 

NaNoWriMo!!

It is finally time to do something I have been wanting to do for the longest time: write a book.

What better time to do it than NaNoWriMo?

(**Technically though, I will not have the full 30 days - my husband and I are going to Prague for five days at the end of November. I will actually have 25 days. Pressure!!**)

I have been procrastinating and procrastinating, mainly because I am terrified. I am terrified that I have nothing to say and terrified that it will be awful.  

But first drafts are supposed to be awful, right?

My husband is the most supportive person in my life and he has been pushing me to finally write a book. Seriously, every time I complain about reading a bad book, his response is to tell me that I can write something way better. I have lost track of the number of times he has told me, "Maybe you should write your own words instead of reading someone else's."

It's kind of hard though because of all the amazing books I have read this year. I am so intimidated. But I will never know what kind of writer I am unless I try. There was a time (years ago) when I wrote on a regular basis and even started a book of my own. Then life got in the way and I stopped writing as much as I did. Now I am finally ready to do this!

The key for NaNoWriMo is going to be: PREPARATION.

Here is how I am preparing to succeed at my very first NaNoWriMo:

1. Set goals. My goal for 25 days is to write 2,000 words a day. If I hit more, great. But if I write at least that much, then I will have no problem making my goal of 50,000 words.

2. A (very rough) book outline. I am trying to find that balance between too much preparation and too little. I want to have enough of an outline so that I know where my story is going, but I don't want to get stuck and feel like I have to follow it to the letter.

3. Turn off the TV! Don't get on the Internet! Seriously . . . NO SURFING UNTIL DAILY GOAL IS MET!!

4. Rewards? I think when I meet my daily goal, chocolate will be necessary. And if I write more than my daily goal, it will be crucial!

5. Don't edit! This one will be hard. But I just want to get the story down on paper (well, actually, on my computer). Editing will come later.

6. Schedule blog posts and reviews in advance! I am not going to be completely absent. I have a few discussions, reviews and top tens. I have even read all my ARCs scheduled to be published in November. I am super prepared!

Wish me luck!

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?
**If you are participating, add me as a buddy here!***

October Wrap-Up

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  

Another month has come and gone and I am super excited. I love this time of year. October was a great month. No travel or anything major, but I have enjoyed the cooler weather. It's nice to open the window and leave the AC off. It has felt so good. I'm just going to ignore the horrible cold and cough that my husband gave me. 

I am even more excited because November is shaping up to be a pretty good month. My husband and I will be spending Thanksgiving in Prague. I am looking forward to beautiful libraries, good food, and Christmas markets! I have also decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. Yikes! I'll be posting more on that later. And also, my blog turns ONE in November!! Crazy, right? Stay tuned for a great giveaway next month. 

This month has been a pretty great month, reading wise. I read a total of 19 books this month and I loved most of them. There were only a few books that were average or really disappointing. 

Favorite book read this month:

It was so hard to pick a favorite because I loved so many books this month! Even though Sea of Tranquility was a reread, I will count it because it is still one of my favorite books ever. The other book I read that was one of the best of the month was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. 

Most disappointing book read this month:

Ice Like Fire didn't get my lowest rating this month, but since I was looking forward to it so much, it definitely wins for most disappointing.  I was bored for about 70% of it.

Reviews posted this month:

Romancing The Dark In The City Of Lights by Ann Jacobus
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
The Storm (The Rain #2) by Virginia Bergin
Weird Girl And What's His Name by Meagan Brothers
All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder
If You're Lucky by Yvonne Prinz
Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
How To Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras
Cam Girl by Leah Raeder
The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey
The Library At Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Voice of Gods (Blood of Gods and Royals #0.5) by Eleanor Herman

Top Ten Lists:

Book Series I Have Quit
Author Duos I Am Dying To See
Top European Libraries I Want To Visit
Creepy Books

Other Posts:

Big Bang Theory Tag
Discussion Post: Striving for Ratings Perfection
Discussion Post: Let It Go

How was your October? What was your favorite book read?