In My Mailbox (25)

Hi guys! Happy Sunday! This week has been pretty slow in the reading department so I guess it is good that I only received one book. As always, In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren.

From Around the World ARC tours-

 

• Nerve by Jeanne Ryan- I received this book through an ARC tour program and I am about halfway through. So far it is pretty good. I cant wait to see where the story goes!

Also, I'd quickly like to mention that there are only 4 days left to enter my 100 follower giveaway! You can win your choice of any YA book valued at $13 or less on Amazon (US only). Enter here!

 

That's it for me! What awesomeness did you get in your mailbox?

 

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
Expected Publication: October 2nd, 2012
Greenwillow
400 pages
Received through SBB ARC Tours

Inhale. Exhale.

Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe . . .
The world is dead.
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

Alina
has been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful.

Quinn
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

Bea
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

So if you have been with me from the beginning you know I have been on a dystopian kick ever since I read Divergent last December. Guys, I think this one made one of my top favorite reads of 2012 it was that fantastic. *Be warned of potential fangirly review ahead!*

First off, the cover. Holy gorgeous! I love this cover. It depicts the story perfectly and even though I did not imagine the world outside of the Pod to look quite like that, I still really love the cover.

The world! Talk about corrupt! I really enjoyed learning about the world both inside and outside the Pod. The premise of the story was really well explained and I just fell into the book with little to no effort. The writing painted such a vivid picture in my mind and (as a visual reader) I just started thinking of what it would be like to live in the Pod. How cool, but at the same time so scary!

In the book, air is recycled and used again in the Pod so that everyone can continue to breathe. But, (here's the kicker) they must PAY for the air they breathe. Can you imagine having to pay for air? How the heck do the people not think that is ludicrous? It is actually mentioned in the story that oxygen levels inside the pod are upwards of 30%. I googled how much O2 is in our air, and we only have 20%. Wouldn't you be like high on oxygen or something? Goodness!

In the book, we get to see the world from three different perspectives. Alina is part of the RATS, an organization on a mission to replant the trees destroyed during the "Switch". Bea is a lower class civilian that lives with her parents who are just barely able to keep paying for her to breathe. Quinn, Bea's best friend is a Premium, a high class civilian, whose dad is high in the ranks of Breathe, the company that controls oxygen in the Pod.

I really enjoyed getting to know each and every character. I find it really cool to read something from three perspectives and get three different thoughts on a situation. Alina was a super cool, take charge, kick butt character. Bea was a demure yet totally awesome girl that had an amazing attitude and was ready to tackle the world. Quinn was the equally as amazing companion to Bea. He totally rocked my socks off, and I even admit to crushing on him just a bit :)

The writing was great. Even though the book was almost 400 pages, I felt like I was flying through the pages. The plot was fast paced and the storyline was quick. There was lots of action and very little down time, which I loved!

Talk about insane cliffhanger! Holy crap guys, I need the next book like now and this one isn't even published yet! I guess I must resign myself to a waiting game. *sigh*

Overall, Breathe totally rocked! The characters were awesome, the world was amazing (and creepy!) and the story flowed quickly and effortlessly! I cannot wait for Mrs. Crossan's next installment in this series!

In My Mailbox (24)

Hi guys! Happy Sunday and welcome to this weeks In My Mailbox post! I received quite a few awesome books this week and I am super excited to share with y'all! All books are linked to Goodreads if one happens to catch your eye! In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.



 

From the Library:

Butter by Erin Jade Lange

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

Skyfall: Troll Hunters by Michael Dahl

 

From PBS:

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

 

From ARCycling:

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker (Thanks to Jennifer ARCycling and Laura @ The Reading Nook!)

 

I do want to make one quick announcement- My 100 Follower Giveaway is in full swing! I am giving away one YA book valued at $13 or less on Amazon (US Only). If you are interested, enter here!

 

That is it for me this week! What awesomeness landed in your mailbox?

100 Follower Giveaway!

Hi guys! I have the most exciting news for y'all! Yesterday I hit 100 followers! You have no idea how excited and how proud I am that my little blog has gone so far in just 6 months! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect six months ago to be in this position. I feel extremely blessed!

So, I decided that in order to thank you it was high time for a giveaway! I am sorry, but at this time the giveaway will be US only! I pinkie promise that next time all of my international followers will be feeling the love too!

Please, enter the Rafflecopter below! May the odds be ever in your favor :)

Rules:

*Must be 13 or older/ have parents permission
*Must be a US resident!
*I will be checking to make sure your entries are valid! Please no cheating!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Incarnate
Author- Jodi Meadows
Published- January 31st, 2012
Katherine Tegen Books
374 pages
Obtained from PBS

New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

 

I finished up Incarnate Sunday night, and I must say that I have definitely never read a book quite like it. I can see how it can be such and odd ball that it is a turn off. I, for one, really enjoyed it!

The obvious thing that first attracted me to this book was of course, the cover. Talk about gorgeous! The colors are awesome and the face is so captivating to look at!

I really enjoyed learning about the world that Incarnate was set in, it seemed to be very intricate and well thought out, but I did feel like the book was missing a few details that I feel would have made the story more enjoyable. What caused there to be only 1 million people? What caused the hatred between sylph, dragons and people? What happened to the people that used to live in Heart? I felt like a lot of my questions went unanswered.

I also felt the characters were flat. Ana showed little to no emotion and I had a really hard time trying to get into her head and get to know her. Sam was a tad bit better. I at least was able to connect on a small level with him and understand him. The romance was cute between him and Ana, but by all means it was not the best or most heart pounding romance I have read.

There was definitely no doubt that there was action though. Dragons attacked left and right, people went on killing sprees and Ana had to run for her life. I really enjoyed the more action packed parts of the book. There was no lack of excitement. Overall though, the plot dragged and there were many slow parts in the books that I was trudging through.

But, once I got past the fact that the book dragged AND had flat characters AND was missing major details, I really enjoyed it. Once I looked past all of the flaws I actually found Incarnate to be a real page turner.

Overall, I enjoyed Incarnate. The bones of the story were great, I just think the story could have been better executed. The characters fell a little flat, the plot dragged in places and the world was ill explained. I will for sure be continuing with the series though. I am hoping that all of my questions are answered when I read Asunder!

 

In My Mailbox (23)

Hi guys! Happy Sunday! So I got a lot of great books this week and I am excited to share! The library keeps coming up with awesome books, which digs me deeper into a hole of TBR!

 

 

Breathe by Sarah Crossan (SBB ARC Tours)

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (PBS)

Everneath by Brodi Ashton (Won)

UnWholly be Neal Shusterman (Library)

Revived by Cat Patrick (Library)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Library)

The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad (Library)

That's it for me! What awesomeness did y'all get this week?

 

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Eve and Adam
Authors- Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Releases on- October 2nd, 2012
Feiwel and Friends
304 pages
Provided by Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.
 

So I finished up Eve and Adam late last night and I have to say I am a tad bit unimpressed. I had my hopes up so high just because *OMG, Michael Grant wrote the book!* I should learn to turn a blind eye to authors and covers. They always seem to get me into trouble.

The quality that first attracted me to this book was, of course, the cover. I know, the first thing they always tell you. DON'T judge a book by its cover. Well, I did... I totally fell in love with this cover. I just love the colors and the sci-fi feel!

Then I read the synopsis....talk about hook, line and sinker. From that point I knew this had to be moved up past all of my other TBR books!

But, when I cracked open the book (or in my case, clicked on the cover) and started to read, my expectations took a nosedive...fast. You know those books that you open the cover and immediately get the I'm-going-to-absolutely-love-this-book vibe. Yep, didn't happen to me. I felt unwelcome if that makes any sense. Partly due to the characters and partly due to other miscellaneous things that just irked me.

I really, really did not like Evening. Firstly, he name drives me crazy! Who the heck names their kid Evening?! Her nicknames weren't much better. E.V. made me think of E.T. (I so didn't want to be thinking of an extraterrestrial creature while reading a book!) and Eve made me think of Adam and Eve! Besides her name, I found her so difficult to connect with. Her emotions were always changing and she was so influenced by others that she hardly counted as a person.

Solo was OK. Not fantastic and at times he was a little jerky. But, when he actually decided to show compassion I really enjoyed his character! Aislin (how the heck do you even say her name?) was a pretty bland character also. She played the standard my-boyfriend-has-so-many-flaws-but-I-still-love-him type of girl. I'm not one to be attached to someone like she was, so she bothered me. The only character I even remotely liked was Adam and he wasn't even a real, legal human!

The plot, it was OK. It was a tad bit slow for my liking and not much really happened. I wasn't really shocked by any of the twists, nor was I connected to anything about the story.

The end definitely held 95% of the action. I really enjoyed the last 50 pages, but I still couldn't fully enjoy them because none of the characters really held a connection with me. And, the end was a bit weird. I really feel like the ending was cut off funny. I'm not sure if the books will continue as a series or as a standalone.

Oh, and the book is marketed as a dystopian, but I really didn't find a dystopian feel. It was more of a mad scientist/ Frankenstein type of book.

Overall, Eve and Adam was just OK. I found the characters difficult to connect to and the plot be be boring. The book lacked a little in the action area also. I'm not really sure if I will be continuing with this series if there is one.