Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
Release date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: Personal Copy
Links: Goodreads / Barnes & Noble / Amazon

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of revolution about to ignite.

          I've put off reading this book ever since it came out. Once I heard that it had a crazy cliffhanger, I decided I could wait a bit to read it. Until this past Friday, when the itch to learn what happened to Lena came and wouldn't leave me alone.

Right away, I was sucked into the story. I was experiencing everything Lena was: every emotion, every trip and stumble, every time she wanted to give up and die, I felt it. Every time she feared or doubted herself or came in contact with something dangerous, I was living it right alongside with her.

As I read, I was wondering about someone's fate and I felt myself freaking out even more and I may or may not have peeked at the last sentence of the book (I so did). However, that backfired because my heart stopped with the shock and I had to read the last paragraph as well. I shouldn't have done that. I hate that I peeked and spoiled the ending to myself. Although, I had no idea what would happened for it to get there.

So as I read on, I started to get anxious, snapping at anyone who dared disturbed me while reading. I soon started hyperventilating and telling Lena, " No, no, no! Don't do it. Don't say it. Don't do what I think you're going to to. You'll regret it." But no! Lena didn't listen to me and as I continued on, I had half of my face covered by my hands. As if that would stop whatever was coming next.

And Oh. My. God. I still can't believe it. I read it and spoiled myself, but I still can't believe what happened. How could Lauren Oliver do this to us?! How could she end it there?! I mean... I... I have no words! I had to go back and reread the last few pages because I couldn't believe it. And now, days later and I still find myself groaning and facepalming myself because how?! How could this have happened? How could it end like that?

I knew I should have waited until it was closer to Requiem's release date to read Pandemonium. However, my stubbornness knows no bounds. Ahhh!!! Lauren Oliver, you got me. You gave me more than I expected and I'll be anxiously awaiting for March 5th, 2013 to get here.

Anyone have any hugs to spare? I'm in need of one.

Book Spotlight and Excerpt - Mahogany Slade by Stephen Robinson

Morning lovelies,

Today I am spotlight Mahogany Slade by Stephen Robinson.

Synopsis: Beautiful, sophisticated, and unpredictable, Janet Tomalin represents every fantasy Brad Carlton grew up having - and more than a few her never realized.

When they meet on their first day of college in Athens, Georgia, the stylish New Yorker completely upends the staid Southerner's ordered universe. They fall for each other intensely and completely. It's the all-consuming passion of a natural performer and her adoring audience. 

There's just one problem: Mahogany Slade, the woman from Janet's not-so-distant past...and inescapable future. Janet knows once Brad meets the dangerous Miss Slade and learns the truth, their once-in-a-lifetime love is doomed. 

Mahogany Slade is the romantic yet acerbic story of young people escaping themselves in a town where your identity is everything. It's as sweet as Janet finds Brad and as irresistible as he finds her.

I managed to get an excerpt of the novel to share with you and I'm super excited about it. Here it is:

           The area of downtown Athens spanning west to Pulaski and north to where Dougherty curves into Prince was no larger than a few square blocks, but its presence in the collective imaginations of musicians—either current, soon to be, or never will but nonetheless hopeful—and their devo­tees loomed larger than Sanford Stadium.The area of downtown Athens spanning west to Pulaski and north to where Dougherty curves into Prince was no larger than a few square blocks, but its presence in the collective imaginations of musicians—either current, soon to be, or never will but nonetheless hopeful—and their devo­tees loomed larger than Sanford Stadium.

Although more traditional students, either through timidity or gen­eral lack of interest, never wandered past the Georgia Theatre, many others yearning for kinship or relevance or a little of both would descend on the stretch of Washington Street that Heather Aulds contemptuously called the “Alterna-mall”—a strip of bars, clubs, and even the requisite tattoo parlor extending from the 40 Watt and providing a convenient one-stop shop for alternative culture.

Dressed in their finest tattered clothing, they came ostensibly for the music and were welcomed if they knew someone who created it, even if the connection was as far removed as a poor family relation.

Winter was when you could witness the preening of those who had suc­cessfully molted the appearances and personas of high school over the course of Fall Quarter, and the young girl at the 40 Watt with the fresh tattoo from next door might go so far as to claim an extensive, deeply affecting (and only slightly affected) history with the band currently playing on stage (she hap­pened to know the classmate of the roommate of the drummer) and would vehemently deny ever having cheered on the Georgia Bulldogs with anything approaching zealotry in the distant, long ago days of September.

If my recollection of this musical arcade is thorn-covered rather than rose-colored, I must confess a lingering bias stemming from Janet’s having dated a prominent member of the coterie. Scott Waldorf was rarely a subject of discussion between us, and I fought off, often unsuccessfully, any painfully vivid thoughts of scenarios involving them that were, I was certain, incompa­rably pleasurable for him.

And then came that Sunday afternoon at Rocky’s when she’d plucked an olive from my slice of pizza and announced, while chewing it entirely on the left side of her mouth, “I want you to come with me to the Shoebox next Wednesday.”

Scott’s band was performing, and their dreadful music and lyrics were not worth a British penny, so I hadn’t the slightest idea why Janet wanted me to go. I considered resisting again, as I had her far more appealing offer to see Damn Yankees, but I knew my reward for saying yes was seeing the half smile on her face reach its full, ecstatic potential. So I agreed, almost eagerly, and on a blustery evening with February lapping at our heels, I accompanied her to the “Alterna-mall.”

--- from Mahogany Slade, Chapter 8

About the Author, Stephen Robinson:

Stephen Robinson graduated from the University of Georgia in 1996. He has lived in many places but feels at home somewhere else. He's written for newspapers and magazines. Mahogany Slade is his first work of fiction.

Contact: Website / Twitter

Cover Reveal - Losing It by Cora Carmack

Today I have the cover for Cora Carmack's debut novel, Losing It. Um, I'm totally loving it. Losing It is slated to be release on October 16, 2012 so only a few more weeks!

Synopsis: College student Bliss Edwards is sick of being the only virgin among her friends. She decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose her virginity quickly and simply - a one-night stand. Her plans turns out to be anything but simple when she chickens out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed. Already embarrassed, it only gets worse when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, and recognizes her new Theater professor. She's left him naked in her bed about eight hours earlier.

Yea, I can't *wait* to read this book. Sounds completely entertaining and something right up my alley. 

About Cora: Cora Carmack is a twenty-something year-old writer who likes to write about twenty-something year-old characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life - boring jobs (like working at Target), fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She loves theatre, travel, and anything that makes her laugh. She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, a New Adult Contemporary Romance called LOSING IT releases October 16th. 

Teaser Tuesday (#9)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: 

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teasers" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoiler! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away. You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teasers.

Morning lovelies,

Here's my teaser for this week:

"But I already knew I would be spending the rest of my life looking back on today, on the last few months, on every choice I had made, and wondering. What if I had been stronger? If I had only managed to resist the way I felt about him...If I had only follow the rules..." ~ Location: 346 and 349 of 5205, Covet (The Clann #2) by Melissa Darnell





What are you teasing today?

Review: FanGirl by Angel Lawson

FanGirl by Angel Lawson
Published: July 10, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Source: Gifted by author
Links: Goodreads / Amazon

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads): "When Ruby Miller and her best friend, Iris, post an amateur video on their Zocopalypse fansite, neither expect the film to go viral, to be invited to lead the FantasyCon parade or meet Gabe Foster, the creator and artist behind the graphic novel.

Gabe announces Zocopalypse's adaptation to a television miniseries and pegs college-bound Ruby to play iconic zombie hunter, Alexandra. She reluctantly accepts, pushing aside her summer babysitting job and plans to lounge around the pool in favor of negotiating with agents, hot actors and the paparazzi.

Attending zombie book camp and memorizing lines is hard enough, but Ruby must learn to trust her instincts in a world where the line between fiction and reality ceases to exist, and the two worlds blur into one."

This review has been a hard one to write. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I loved it so much that I'm afraid I won't do the book it's justice in explaining just how awesome and real and witty it is. I want people to flock to their local bookstore or Amazon, whatever means possible and purchase this book. It is that good.

For the past few months I've been really irritated by female characters, in both Young/New Adult and Adults novels. I've come across a lot female protagonists that are either really weak, irritating, self-absorbed, and make me question their intelligence or all of the above. They also manage to never redeem themselves by the end of the book. However, in FanGirl you are never irritated with Ruby Miller or thinking she is weak and a liability. She's very sarcastic (which I love), quirky, and what I love most, an average girl who was just thrown into the Hollywood scene and tried to deal with everything with as much grace and dignity as possible. With some funny mishaps along the way.

Ms. Lawson managed to create secondary characters I wish I personally knew. Ruby's best friend, Iris; Hollywood latest It Boy and Ruby's celebrity crush, Andrew Xavier; and creator of all things Zocopalypse, Gabe Foster. Iris was the mastermind in getting Ruby to play Alexandra in the fanvideo they made and continued to push Ruby to play her in the film. I love Ruby's and Iris's friendship and all their antics.

"Can we go home and spam her with the video? I can hack into her account."
"Yes. When I finish this bacon." I take a bite.
"Good plan. Bacon, then hacking."
I pick up my pen and jot it down. Iris leans over the table and pushes my pen out of the way. "Did you make a list for bacon and hacking?"
"Maybe."
"So weird."
"You love me."
"I really do."

~~~B&S~~~

"Aww. You lie to make me feel better. Thanks bestie."

~~~B&S~~~

"To this day, she maintains that I cut in line. Likewise, I maintain she was a bossy brat. The result? One pulled pigtail and one kick in the shin. After being dragged from the gym floor, our mothers made us apologize and forced us into a play date. We've been BFFs ever since, but at any time I may kick her in the shin and she may pull my hair. It's how we show affection. Her little speech kind of touches me."

Andrew Xavier was fun getting to know. I was kind of surprise by his secret in the end but it made a lot of  sense. My inner fangirl just hoped that it wasn't true. And to introduce Gabe Foster, here's Ruby and Iris:

"Gabe Foster?"

"Gabe. Foster."

"Gabe Foster."

(Have I mention how much I love these two?) He's the cute, nerdy guy that I secretly love to swoon over. He pushes Ruby as well as gives her space, her values her opinions and wants her to do well. He's everything a girl would want from a guy. Where can I find a guy like him?

"Wow. Those are amazing."

"I found them online. They glow in the dark, too."

He looks up. "Yeah, I'm not talking about the shoes, although they are cool. Holy Batman, Ruby, I' not letting you or those legs out of my sight tonight."

~~~B&S~~~

"That doesn't make sense."

"None of this makes sense."

"You know what makes sense?"
"What?" I ask, loving his silliness.

He kisses me in the front seat of that truck, and it's so much better than the last kiss I had in here. He's sweet and tastes like cake.

"This. This makes sense." (sighs. swooooon.)

Love. I just love this story. I was gifted the copy by Angel, but I'm definitely going out and buying myself the print version of FanGirl. I need to be able to hug this book. And normally I prefer reading standalone books, but I'm really sad that this is the end for FanGirl. I would love to read more about Ruby and Gabe and Iris. I guess I just have to make due and reread it all over again.

Quotes (#13)

Morning Swooners!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I finally had my mother watched The Hunger Games. About time if you ask me. Now I'm trying to get her to read the books. Let's see how that goes. How about some quotes?

"People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading." - Logan Pearsall Smith

"If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he rereads." - Francois Mauric

"You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace." - Frank McCourt

"The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all." - Ted Hughes

"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." - William Goldman

A lot truth in those quotes. But I'll be leaving you with something funny that will hopefully make you giggle. I giggled for a few minutes straight.

(source)

Hehehe...have good day everyone!

Currently Reading - Covet by Melissa Darnell

Hi lovelies.

I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. I'm sharing with you what I'm currently reading. Covet (The Clann #2) by Melissa Darnell is the book that's holding my attention. I managed to get an early egalley from Harlequin Teen through NetGalley. So far, I'm enjoying it and even managed to shed a few tears. I can't wait to keep on reading and then share my thoughts on it.

Happy Sunday!

Stacking the Shelves (#15)

Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This mean you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks.

Hello lovelies,

Last week was my birthday weekend and I did not properly prepare my post causing me to miss out on visiting on all your new pretties. Hopefully I can change that today! Here's my haul for this week:

Love Unscripted (Love #1) by Tina Reber

Broken by A.E. Rought

Finally Home by Helen Scott Taylor

I received all these pretties from NetGalley, so a special thanks to (respectively) Simon & Schuster, Angry Robots, and Carina Press. 

Link me in the comments to your new additions in your shelves. 

Happy Saturday, Swooners!

Book Spotlight and Excerpt: Perception by Lee Strauss

Morning lovelies,

Today,  I am spotlighting author Lee Strauss's new novel, Perception.

It was recently released on September 1, 2012. Here's the blurb:

Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP- a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. 

Her brother Liam is missing.

Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protest against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they've created between those who have and those who don't. He doesn't like girls like Zoe and he has good reasons not to like her specifically.

Zoe's carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She's in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only who can help her.

Perception is a (SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions - both financially and philosophically. It explores the class between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there's room to fall in love.

This is the first book in a planned three book series.

Does this sounds awesome, or what?!

Ms. Strauss was kind enough to let us preview the first chapter of Perception. Check it out:

Blog Tour Tour Stop: Review + Giveaway: Catch the Sun by Lee Zamloch

Catch the Sun by Lee Zamloch
Release date: 2008
Publisher: Self-Published
Source: Gifted by the author
Link:Goodreads / Amazon

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: Marilyn Monroe begins appearing on Amanda Grace's patio dancing, laughing at the moon and gazing at Amanda through the glass doors. Is it possible that Marilyn, against all reason, has somehow transported herself through time and space to contemporary Los Angeles? And why does she flaunt Amanda, but whose talent is questionable?

The visitations begin when Amanda's mother, Edith, commits suicide, an event that shakes Amanda to her foundation. For, while she has been a successful model, she has always measured herself against her mother, a well-known artist who has overcome severe obstacles. But unlike Edith and her accomplished sister, Joanne, Amanda Grace has not distinguished herself intellectually or artistically, nor even managed to marry and have children. In her eyes, she has failed to live up to her mother's expectations. Now, with Edith's death, she has forever lost her chance to prove herself. In her grief, she forgets to eat, sleep, or carry on with life's simplest tasks. The final blow comes when Amanda accidentally learns she was adopted. With the loss of her family as a touchstone, her foundation crumbles, and her fragile sense of self dissolves completely. 

Catch the Sun is a story about how an obsession with a celebrity can impact the life of an ordinary woman. It explored our endless fascination with Marilyn Monroe's fragility, beauty and dazzling rise and fall.

         I was very surprised when I first started reading Catch the Sun. I found myself engaged in the storytelling, turning page after page trying to find out what would happen next. I thought I knew how it was going to end but the twist totally threw me off and I was left reeling. What really happened? Did Amanda imagined everything?

In the beginning, I found myself tearing up and sympathizing as Amanda and her sister Joanne dealt with the suicide of their mother. However, as we learn more about Amanda, I became irritated about how self-absorbed she was. Apparently, since she was so "sensitive" (as her mother, Edith, puts it) it gave her a way out on leaving all the arrangements to Joanne. And when this was pointed out to her, she ran away crying, leaving everything to be figured out by other people. Again.

This story is told in Amanda's POV as well as in Marilyn's POV. I really enjoyed Marilyn's point of view since it would give us more knowledge on the starlet's life and how it was entwined with Amanda's. I don't know much about Marilyn Monroe's life but I enjoyed how Ms. Zamloch was able to transport us back into Miss. Monroe's life and how authentic it felt.

My only issues with the story were the "woes is me, nobody loves me, men only like me for my body" that both Marilyn and Amanda talked about. I think that so much time was spent whining about everything that I rolled my eyes so many times that I was worried they were going to get stuck that way. They both complained so much about how they were stuck in their vicious cycle and were both so unhappy that I started to force myself to care about it. I just wanted for Amanda to get out of dark clouds and do something for once. Which she does but like I said, I'm still confused with how it ended.

I will probably reread this book again just so I can understand it better and pick up on those clues that I know were right in front of me. And I'm definitely curious about Marilyn Monroe and I would love to learn more about her and her short life.

Author's Bio:
Lee Zmaloch lives on the Central Coast of California where she writes fiction. Her work has appeared in a number of literary journals and she has won several honors for her writing including the Booklegger Award for best submission of the year from Toyon and honorable mentions from the Nelson Algren Award, and Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. She has published two novels which are available from Amazon.com in both print and kindle editions. She is currently at work on her next novel.
Lee has been a teacher, a consultant, a college professor and a program designer. She enjoys hiking, reading, traveling and romping with her two Siberian huskies, Sunny and Storm.

Contact Lee Zamloch here: Website / Twitter / Goodreads

*Giveaway*

Ms. Zamloch is giving away an e-book copy of her novel, Catch the Sun. All you have to is enter the giveaway down below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway