Hump Day Waits

I bet you weren't expecting that were you! Hump day treats are always nicer when they're surprises, anyway, right?

Since I've been too busy trying to be an adult working two jobs, I haven't been as bookish lately. Well fear not, because I've downed an entire tall chocolate latte and these fingers are ready to rip. Or shake. Or both. Is it just me or are the keys on my keyboard moving themselves??!?!

AHEM.

Composure.

My pick for this week's Waiting on Wednesday (on Thursday too) is Man Up: Tales of My Delusional Self Confidence by Ross Mathews.

This is a humorous memoir published by Chelsea Handler's book imprint. (She also wrote the afterward.) The reasons I am excited about it are presented herein in an easy to follow, bulleted list. Enjoy.

• Ross Mathews is one of my favorite comedians on the Chelsea Lately round table and was one of my favorite contestants from  the phase I went through when I watched Celebrity Fit Club and binge ate Cheez It's.
• I love his dorky sense of humor that is not unlike my own. Plus, the high tone of his voice makes me feel like I'm spending time with a jolly aunt that lives in California when he talks.
• I can relate to having delusional self confidence, because when people tell me I suck, or when I start to think I suck, I ignore those people and those feelings and remind myself I'm amazing. Because well....obviously.
• Gwyneth Paltrow wrote the foreward. She and Ross must be friends. They probably gossip about Bruce Jenner and give each other Olive Oil facials while discussing trendy meatless recipes to feature next on Goop.com.
• I love these kind of books because memiors themselves are usually pretty interesting, and even better if the author has a sense of humor about themselves.

I have preordered my copy from Target.com because it comes with a bonus chapter and is evidently autographed, which I will test using my saliva/finger swipe procedure when it comes in the mail.

Have you read any memoirs or humorous books? Which are your favorite? What else are you looking forward to? Why won't my eyes close? Why am I asking so many questions?

Have I had too much coffee?

Pleasant reading!

Jonathan

Jessi's Waiting On Wednesday! 5-1-2013

Hello! Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we highlight books we just cannot wait to read! Today's pick? The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan!

This is a debut YA novel from Page Morgan, and can we just marvel at the beautiful eeriness of this cover? I cannot wait until this is on my shelves.

Goodreads Synopsis:

It was bizarre and inexplicable, and after it happened, Ingrid Waverly was forced to leave her life in London behind. She had to trade a world full of fancy dresses and society events for exile in gothic Paris with her mother and her younger sister, Gabby.
In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and disturbingly, the house rented by Ingrid's twin brother, Grayson, isn't a house at all. It's an abbey. A creepy, old abbey with a roof lined in stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.
And to top it all off, Grayson is missing.
Yet no one seems to be concerned about Grayson's whereabouts save for Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant who has some deep and dark secrets of his own.
There's one secret about the city that even Luc can't keep hidden, though: there's a murderer on the loose. And every day that Grayson is missing means there's less chance he's still alive.
Ingrid is sure her twin isn't dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows that he's in grave danger, and that it's up to her and Gabby to find him before all hope is lost.
And yet the path to him is more dangerous than she could ever imagine.

AH! It sounds so good! The Beautiful and the Cursed is set to be published in just two weeks on May 14th, 2013!

What is your waiting on wednesday??

-Jessi-

Book Review: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Pages: 390
Published: March 31st, 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Buy: Here!, Here!, OR Here!

“That's what being crazy was, wasn't it? You thought you were fine. Everyone else knew better.” 

Today's review is over a book I read at the beginning of April. It is a book I read off a whim based on a recommendation from a friend, and the quality of this entire trilogy was a very welcomed and pleasant surprise! Of course I am talking about The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong which is the first book in the Darkest Powers trilogy.

Goodreads Synopsis:

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, and meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home. 
At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behavior. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

 My Thoughts:

This book was a quick and fast paced read. Being at almost 400 pages one wouldn't think this could constitute as a 'quick read' but I found myself devouring these pages. I was engrossed in this story 100% of the time and I could not put it down. Kelley Armstrong laced these pages with a story that touched on each emotion and connected with the reader in a refreshing way.

Characters/Character Development:

-The main character in this story is Chloe, she is a character that is easy for the reader to relate to, whether the reader be male or female.
-The relationships between Chloe, Derek, and Simon play such a dynamic role in the development of the story and I adored them as a trio.
-Derek was a character that I did want more from in the beginning chapters, I was not drawn to him as much in the beginning as I was by the end of the book, Derek was a brilliant character.
-Unfortunately, Simon was not a character I felt as strongly about. I definitely feel like he was an essential character throughout the whole trilogy and he had his stronger moments, but overall I don't feel like I connected with him as much as Derek and Chloe.
-Something I really loved about the supporting characters in this book is how much they aided in carrying the plot. A couple of the supporting characters were serious game changers and (after reading the whole trilogy) really changed the outcomes of some of the plot lines.

Plot/Pacing:

-This book started with a bang. Kelley Armstrong wasted no time in developing the main plot line in this book, I find that when some books take this approach the plot becomes *blah* and lackluster, it was not the case, however, for this book.
-I found this plot line exciting, interesting and easy to follow.
-The pacing was quick but not so quick that I felt like I was missing pieces of information

Overall:

Over all I feel that Kelley Armstrong started off her Darkest Powers trilogy on the perfect note. I was so excited to continue on with the series (especially after the ending) that I read the other two in less than a week! I gave this book a 5/5 stars and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good series!

Jonathan's Showcase Sunday 4-28-2013

 Ba da. Ba da. Ba da da da da da.

Here's my very first Showcase Sunday! SPOTLIGHTS!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 

I’m a little slow getting on the train to this one, but this is the acclaimed story of friendship between two boys, one of whom is in a concentration camp. I’ve been looking at this book for a while, but just recently bought it since reading Annexed reawakened my interest in the Holocaust. I’m very excited to read it and see how it turns out, since there seems to be a lot of hate for it on Goodreads.

The God Box

Written by Alex Sanchez, this is a story about a guy named Paul, content with dating his girlfriend and being active in his religion based high school. His life gets complicated when a new student named Manuel arrives and tests what he thinks he knows about himself, his faith, and the world he lives in.

I always see the Rainbow Boys series at the library and I want to get into those, but I figured I’d try another book of Sanchez’s first.

Avalon High

This is a purely guilty pleasure read. Meg Cabot wrote this book about a girl who goes to a school and realizes that everyone seems to have a connection to Camelot and the world of King Arthur. I have to say I loved The Princess Diaries series. I found them laugh out loud funny, and I can’t wait to see what Meg Cabot does with these well known characters. 

Jessi's Showcase Sunday: 4/28/13

It's Sunday! Which means we're due for another Showcase sunday which is brought to us by Vicky at Books, Biscuits, and Tea. It is an opportunity for us to show books that we have recently received for review, purchased, been gifted or borrowed from the library!

The first two books i'm featuring for this Showcase Sunday I received for review and they are:

The Alchemist War by John Seven

and

The Siren's Secret by Heather Ostler

The Alchemist War is a middle grade/historical fiction book set to be released in July 2013, I'll post my review of it a little closer to that time.

And The Siren's Secret is the second book by Heather Ostler in the Shapeshifter's Secret series which is set to be released June 11th!

The third book is Black City by Elizabeth Richards, which I purchased so I could participate in the Book Twerps May read along, which starts May 1st and end May 31st! The schedule for the read along is not out yet so it's not too late to join! My review of that will be up shortly after the read along ends.

Thanks for reading, and as always keep on the lookout for more reviews!

-Jessi-

Book Review: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 453 pages
Published: March 25, 2008
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Buy: here!

"If you can't tell the truth to the people you care about, eventually you stop being able to tell the truth to yourself"

Hello friends!

Today's review is on City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare which as many of you know is the second installment in the Mortal Instruments series, first being City of Bones. I won't lie, at first I was having a tough time getting through this book, but fear not lovers of this series, my heart fell hard, if not harder for these characters by the end of this book and I applaud Cassandra Clare on one of the best sequels i've read!

Goodreads Synopsis:

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.
To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

My Thoughts:

Like I said above, when I first started this book I was finding it much slower paced than City of Bones, which took off right from the get go. I was discouraged because a lot of sequels nowadays shine much dimmer in the light of the books before it, and based on the first 100 or so pages I was afraid City of Ashes was going to fall into the 'good, but not as good as the first' category.

STOP: IF YOU FEEL THIS WAY…KEEP GOING!!! It get's better, promise :)

Characters/Character Development:

-The development of the relationship between Jace and Clary is SO WELL WRITTEN. You never know quite where they stand and I love it. Their relationship is one that I can feel the tension and desire between them. GAH, couldn't get enough.
-Something else that City of Ashes developed for me, which was surprising, was a serious love for Magnus Bane, he was a character in City of Bones that I didn't hate but I also didn't love. Clare makes it impossible for the reader to not fall in love with him. I need a Magnus Bane in my life, is a sassy, gay warlock in my life REALLY too much to ask??
-I really feel like City of Ashes made HUGE strides in the 'character development' department. Cassandra Clare has her characters so interwoven and the backstory SO intricate that falling in love with these characters and watching them make mistakes, fall in love, and grow as people is a real joy.

Plot/Pacing:

-The plot (as I mentioned above) was slow going at first. It wasn't uninteresting or boring, I did feel however, that with City of Bones being SO fast paced even from the beginning; I came in with a sort of expectation of the plot that just wasn't met in my opinion.
-I would say about 150-200 pages in (so roughly half way through) Clare throws some curveballs and certain events take place that I powered through the last half because I just could not stop. The fact that the middle and end were SO good and so well developed made up for the lackluster beginning.
-The content of the plot itself is a subject I could write a small novel about, so we'll leave it at this: the details and the actual development of the plot are hands down amazing. The descriptive details Clare includes transport you into the world of the shadowhunters. I can't say enough about how beautifully written these books are.

Overall:

Overall I feel like City of Ashes was fantastic, a phenomenal sequel and an exciting read. The pace, while at the beginning lagged was perfect through out the rest of the novel. I cannot wait to continue on with this series. Cassandra Clare has a way of wrapping you into her stories and she doesn't let you go until you turn the last page.

Rating:

4.5/5 Stars

Waiting on Wednesday! 4/24/2013

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we highlight books that us as readers are looking forward to!

This week, I have picked The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White! I stumbled across this book on Goodreads, read the synopsis and immediately started anticipating September. Plus this book offers a serious amount of cover porn…i mean…look at the cover, it's beautiful.

Good reads synopsis:

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.
Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

 This book sounds fantastic, I have never read anything by Kiersten White, but after reading the synopsis of this one I may have to pick one up!
The release date for The Chaos of Stars is September 10th, 2013 and it will be published by Harper Teen.
Find this book on Goodreads here!

-Jessi-