Mini Review Monday[10] You Are Not Here by Samantha Schutz

 You Are Not Here

Samantha Schutz

REVIEW:

If I wanted to sum this book up in one word that word would be morose. Nothing about this book is happy until the last 30 pages. So, if you read this book, be prepared to have a heavy heart. Especially if you have experienced a similar situation

Annaleah is one of those girls I want to slap. She is delusional and doesn't see the entire picture of her life. I don't think Brian loved her and it took her until the end of the book to figure that out.

Brians death was tragic but I can't help but wonder how much longer Annaleah would have followed him like a lost puppy before you realized that he wasn't good for me.

I really loved this book and I am glad that Annaleah didn't push Ethan away in the end. She did the right thing by taking her life back and moving on.

This was a very emotional and coming of age book written in verse. I would suggest this to anyone who loves verse or just wants a good read with a happy ending.

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 Mini Kitties.

HelloJennyRants - Cover Changes

As I sit here and look at the books on my shelves I find myself getting angry that some books don't match.

Now I understand the authors feelings when they want to change a book cover. They find something that they believes fits their book better and it makes them happy. But please, for the love of all that is holy, re-release the first book in hardback so that it matched the rest. Most changes come with the second book so the paperback release of the first book will have a cover change but that leaves the very first hardback left behind. I personally like to collect series in hardback as I'm sure many other people do.

But that isn't what angers me the most. The thing that REALLY gets me is when authors change THE LAST BOOK IN A SERIES! And here is my number one example:

 

 

I do have to say that this is the cover change that infuriates me the most. I understand that the last books cover goes with the title. But COME ON. Not only is it ugly but it clashes so horribly with the first two books. Would it be so hard to release two covers and just redo the paperbacks in this new ugly cover? My first two hardbacks are sooo beautiful and they match and then it's like uhh what is that book? Does it belong there? I've actually had a friend come over and tell me that the book doesn't belong with the series and I laughed.

How do you feel about cover changes? Feel free to let me know in the comments =)

Mini Review Monday[9] The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

REVIEW:

So much hype, so little book. That is how I feel about The Fault In Our Stars.

The book wasn't as dreadful as I found Looking For Alaska to be but it didn't speak to me or touch my heart like thousands of others.

I first read one of John Green's books before they even became over hyped and I found it to be average. Nothing special stood out to me and I quickly forgot about the book. Then, upon joining the blogging/booktubing community I was overwhelmed with all this hype about John Green so I thought I would give his most loved work a chance.

This book was just depressing. And to be quite frank, if you didn't pass Honors English 12 in high school then the entire book was an intellectual slap in the face.

Augustus was a blantant asshole with the way he just threw his meager intelligence around.

Hazel Grace was a whiny self-absorbed brat.

The only plus side to Augustus was the fact that he knew he was going to die and he didn't flaunt it like Hazel did. I also think it was sweet of him to let her has his wish but then he went and slept with her when he knew he was dying. That is horrible!

There honestly isn't much else I can say about this book. It was 300+ pages of two teens cancer stories, death and depression.

Overall, I gave the book 3/5 Mini Kitties. The book itself might not have lived up to the hype but John Green is talanted for the right audiance. 

REVIEW: Divergent Movie {SPOILERS}

So I went to see Divergent today, March 23rd, and I was pleasantly surprised. Normally when I go to see a book to movie adaptation I will lean over in my chair and tell my boyfriend whats wrong and what was changed. But not this time. There were definitely some changes but they didn't bother me enough to ignite a rage inside of me like most movies have.

Now a few things did bug me. The first being that Edwards character was never shown and was only mentioned once. We didn't get to see the knife scene or anything. I am curious and worried about how this will effect Insurgent if they decide to make it into a movie. Edward played a huge page in Insurgent.

Aside from Edward there are only a few other minor things I can think of that were omitted/changed.

The second this was minor but Four's eye were supposed to be blue. That is mentioned MANY times in the book. Don't get me wrong, Theo is a pretty hot guy but they could have put blue contacts on him or something.

The "paintball" scene got changed to being neuro-stimulating "bullets" that felt like you were actually being shot.

Then there was the scene towards the end where Tris's mom saves her. In the movie she was not in a water tank. She was taken outside and was about to be shot Holocaust style.

Will's hair was not blonde nor did Tris shoot him in the head. And I pictured Christina as a bigger girl. I know she was bigger than Tris but in the movie she is A LOT smaller.

There was also no hard drive stolen at the end. The entire simulation was deleted by the Erudite leader, Jeanine.

Now onto the things I liked and disliked.

I loved Shailene Woodley as Tris. She really captured Tris's character and brought her to life. I do think she was too pretty to play the role though. Tris was supposed to be plain and Shailene is anything but.

After I got over Theo not having blue eyes I really did like him as Four. He was tough and just had the perfect "Four" feeling going on.

Jai Courtney played Eric pretty well. I would have liked to see him be a bit more aggressive and mean.

I loved that I got emotionally involved in the movie. I almost cried a few times. I saw some people were writing that the movie wasn't emotional and that makes me wonder what movie they saw because it obviously wasn't the same one I saw.

I didn't like how the attack on Abnegation was made to look like the Holocaust. Yes, Jeanine could be seen as a female version of Hitler in the book but The attack on Abnegation wasn't because of what they were it was because of Jeanine thinking they were doing wrong and didn't deserve to rule the people.

I did, however, like Kate Winslet as Jeanine. She seems very good at portraying characters that think they are better than everyone else, i.e. Titanic.

I can't really think of anything else that I didn't like. Well, Aside from Peter, but that can't be helped.

Overall I gave the movie two ratings. The first rating is a 4.5 for Book to Movie Adaptation. The second is a 5 just for the overall movie.

Mini Review Monday[8] Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Love & Leftovers

Sarah Tregay

REVIEW:

I picked this book up for one reason. Verse book. I didn't have to read the synopsis or look it up on Goodreads. It was an instant buy.

I am giving everyone a fair warning. I normally try to keep my reviews spoiler free but this one is impossible to do that with. So their will be spoilers. Turn back now!

Marcie is your averge teenage girl. She has a best friend, a boyfriend, and a group she hangs out with, The Leftovers. But her normal life doesn't last long.

Dang girl. Your dads boyfriend sure is hot. Wait, what? Yup. After 17 years of marriage(I think it was 17 years) Marcies dad decides that her mother is intimate enough and hightails it to the "Straight Friendly" bar. That is when Danny comes into the picture.

Marcies mother can't handle this situation so she moves her daughter from Boise, Idaho to a place where carkeys sounds like khakis. I think this was a poor decision on her mothers part. You should not uproot your child like that. This is also when we start to find out that Marcies mother is pretty much unstable.

This book shows how living with parents that make you feel alone and unwanted can cause a child to reflect these things in her own life. Marcie thought her relationship with her boyfriend isn't good enough because he hasn't touched her so she goes after someone who will touch her.

It's a very sad and touching story but at least the ending is somewhat happy. I will definitely recommend this if you are a fan of verse books.

Overall I gave the book 4/5 Mini Kitties.

REVIEW: Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam

Title: Eusion
Author: Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam
Format: eBook ARC
Source: Edelweiss
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

REVIEW: Elusion is a very colorful book. I imagined things I never thought I could in a book.

Having Elusion in the future would be a pretty awesome thing. But I don't want the highly polluted world this is portrayed in the book even though that is the direction we are heading. I'm not exactly sure what year the book takes place is, I don't think it says, but sadly there still aren't any flying cars! There are, however, meal replacement drinks that give you the protein, etc, of a full meal, laser pens to open up boxes and lots of other high tech gadgets. So if you really think about it, we aren't too far behind with the technology of this book.

I feel sorry for Regan. Her father is gone, her mother is pretty much comatose and she feels like her father isn't getting nearly enough credit for his invention. 

I was rooting for Patrick in the romance department for a little bit. The best friend is always a great romance story. But then Josh was introduced and my emotions were all over the place.  But then Patrick went all crazy nutso which left me feeling even more sorry for Regan. She couldn't catch a break.

I didn't really connect with the characters, except for feeling sorry for Regan, but I feel that it didn't matter too much because Elusion was more about world building in my personal opinion.

There are sooo many things I want to say but they would be spoilers and I'm just not that kind of girl. If you are a fan of YA Sci-Fi then I would suggest that you give this book a try.

I will say that towards the end of the book I had to put it down and take a breather. It was pretty intense and fast paced.

Elusion did pose a very difficult question. Which would you chose? Love or Loyalty. I, personally, would pick loyalty. You cannot have love without loyalty. But you can have loyalty without love.

Overall, I gave the book 4/5 Kitties.

REVIEW: Shattered Secrets by Krystal Wade

Title: Shattered Secrets
Author: Krystal Wade
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

REVIEW: My first impressions of Shattered Secrets was that I didn't like it very much. There were so many words thrown at me and everything felt like it went by in a blur. I actually think the way I felt was exactly/close to how Abigail felt. Having everything thrown at her and being expected to believe everything.

I do think the whole normal girl finds out she isn't so normal is a tad big over played. I would definitely compare this book to Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon. Which isn't a bad thing because I loved that book. But there are tons of books with this concept. At least this one was different and had three different planes to work with. It wasn't all just centered on Earth.

I did enjoy Derrick. He seemed very sweet and definitely sounded attractive. I am still wondering if Abigail's other ability is what makes him like her. I know he wondered that too but maybe her ability makes his own answers unclear even to himself. I do like he kicked himself in the butt too many times and tried to take on too much responsibility. I understand that he was bound to protect Abigail but sometimes too much is just too much.

Mark! EW! I didn't like him from the start of the book but I didn't see him becoming what he became either. He was overly aggressive and too full of himself. I really do hope he changes and, dare I say, comes back from the dark side. I promise you, there aren't cookies over there.

Abigail is one of the strongest main characters I think I have come across. Losing all the people she lost in the short amount of time and then being faced with the reality that she might lose her best friend too. It was just all too unreal and my head would have been spinning. She has so much thrown at her at once I have no idea how she even functioned properly.

This book is filled with emotions, lots of death and so much conflict. I almost feel as though I need to go back and mark every death. Most YA books don't have death. They might have a parent dying but that is always before the book happens. It was definitely a change of pace. And I am glad the author wasn't afraid to kill some people.

Overall, I gave the book 4/5 Kitties.

HarperTeen's Official Fall 2014 Cover Reveals

Just saw a post for this and thought I would share. Here is a link to their post: http://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-official-roundup-of-fall-2014-harperteen-cover-reveals/

I am just going to show the book covers that I am most excited for. Clicking on each picture will take you to Goodreads.

I love the covers of these books. I picked up Blackout from 2nd & Charles a few months back and I admit it was a total cover buy. I am excited to see if the actual hard back under the cover has the same type of design as Blackout.

 I don't even own the first book yet but I can't pass this cover up. It has a water dragon on it!

Goodreads

I own every one of this authors books but I have yet to read any of them. All of her covers are just so amazing. How could I not buy them?

Goodreads

I have never actually heard of this book before today but the synopsis sounds really good. This wouldn't be a cover buy. It would be a synopsis buy.

Goodreads

Anything that has to do with Edgar Allen Poe will draw me in. I own this authors other two books and I must say I am torn between which covers to like better. This one is completely drained of color but I still love it.

Goodreads

I read Asylum last year as an arc for October and I was left with so many unanswered questions. I am hoping that this book will answer at least some of them. But regardless of whether it does or doesn't I will still get this book because the cover is awesomesauce!

Goodreads

I seriously cannot wait to put this on my shelf next to the other two books in the series. These covers are just amazing and they look fabulous on the shelf! I recently found book two at a Goodwill and proceeded to squeal and have all the other customers stare at me. But it was sooo worth it.

Goodreads

I love these covers, I love the girl on the front of them and I love the kick-ass main character. End of discussion.

Goodreads

Yay! A new Gretchen McNeil book!And it appears to be a series. I don't think any of her other books were series. Hmmm.

Goodreads

A second book?! WHAT? I thought Not A Drop To Drink was a standalone. Apparently I was wrong. But the cover is pretty.

Goodreads

Yup. Cover buy. The story doesn't sound too bad either. I have the first book around here somewhere... hehehe. The third book will be called Trust Me. Or at least that's what Goodreads says.

Goodreads













Please make sure to check out the sight above that I got this from. And on the site it tells you where the cover was first revealed so go check out those links as well!

What do you think about these covers? Which ones are you most excited for? Which ones are the prettiest? Let me know!

HelloJennyRants - Deckled Edges

I have decided to start something new. It wont be a weekly thing. It will more or less be something that just pops up whenever I feel the need to rant about something.

So for the first rant I have chosen deckled edges on books.

They are pretty to look at, I guess, but they make it difficult to turn the pages. And then you have the series where the first book is normal and then the second book is deckled. Why would you do that? Do authors think that deckled edges make their books more appealing?Does it tickle your fancy to have pieces of your book coming off in your hands?

I just picked up my copy of Ignite Me and I wanted to cry. I even asked the sales girl if they had any "normal" copies. She laughed and said she completely agrees with my hatred towards the evil deckled edge.

UGH! This seriously appeals to me as much as nails on a chalk board. Thank god I don't have to look at the edge of the books while they are on the shelves.

Some people find them great. Other people, like me, not so much. Where do you stand with the great deckled edge controversy? Love em'? Hate em'? Don't give a ****? Let me know!

REVIEW: The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams

Title: The Haven
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Format: eBook ARC
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

REVIEW: At first I really wasn't liking this book. Just something about it wasn't connecting with me. But I started to like it as I got further in.

I haven't personally read a book like this before but I have seen people saying it's a lot like another book that has already been written. I really don't see what all the hostility is about though. A LOT of book are like other books.

Shiloh is the main character and I didn't like her at first but after she got off of the tonic I did start to warm up to her. She was still a little too standoffish for me.

The Terminals in general were very creepy and robotic at least until the cafeteria scene towards the end. That scene actually made me wonder just how many Terminals stopped drinking the tonic.

I loved how the book seemed to be a coming of age and finding your first love kind of book when that really isn't what its about.

I find it to be very immoral of Dr. King to be making replicants and then drugging them so they appear to be inhuman, soulless creatures. What Dr. King stands for is basically like saying babies that are made in petri dishes and then put into a mother makes the baby inhuman and soulless. Then the fact that the world they live in actually allows these things to happen is horrendous. But money makes the world go round.

Gideon was different from the start. He got away with more than he should have been able too and I was instantly curious as to what his story would be. Turns out the story was very interesting and informative. Definitely showed a different side to Dr. King.

Abigail was a cute little side character. She was a good best friend but she wasn't very strong willed. Same goes for Daniel. He got offered something he wanted and in return her ended up almost ruining The Plan.

The authors writing isn't really my type of writing and I think that is what put me off in the beginning. I have read another book by Carol Lynch Williams and it was written in verse. I can honestly say I like her better when she is writing in verse.

The cover is very pretty but I'm not sure that it really portrays the book very well. Also, it kind of reminds me of the cover for Haven by Kristi Cook. Both contain butterflies and strangely the same title.

I am also not even sure what category to put this book in. I know its pretty much Science Fiction but it's like a mix of Dystopia and Utopia. It's a good place for the people who have the replicants but it's a bad places for the replicants. Dr. King rules over the replicants but that's it.

Overall I gave the book 4/5 Kitties.

Mini Review Monday[7] Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent

Veronica Roth

REVIEW

There are many words and feelings that come to mine when I think back about Insurgent. But the feeling that is most prominent would have to be frustration. The most prominent word would be UGH.

I feel like Tobias and Tris spent way too much time fighting. With both of them knowing that each other could die at any minute they should have used their time with each other a little bit more wisely. 

Let's talk about what frustrated me. There was so much sexual tension between Tobias and Tris. Christina was acting like a baby when we all know if the roles were reversed, Christina would have shot Tobias without giving it a second thought. But the BIG thing that frustrated me the most was Tris's inability to speak her f*&#*@g mind. Every chapter had a section where she was saying that she couldn't say this or wouldn't say that. AHHHHHH!!!

Another big this about Insurgent is it felt like an intermission to me. Just a break between Divergent and Allegiant. It gave us something to do until Allegiant came out.

Tris just made me mad throughout the entire book. It was like she was on a mission to prove that she wasn't a child and all that mission did was make her feel more childish.

Overall, I gave the book 3/5 Mini Kitties.

Mini Review Monday[6] Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss

Stephanie Perkins

REVIEW

This book was completely and utterly adorable. I really wish Stephanie Perkins would write a New Adult sequel that tells us what happens to St. Clair and Anna after they go to college.

I adored all of the characters. I think the only one that really bothered me was Ellen/Ellie. She seemed very two-dimensional and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why St. Clair was even with her to begin with. She didn't seem very interesting and her personality was lacking.

The fact that almost every girl in this book liked St. Clair did seem a little farfetched. He is short and not too many girls will go for short regardless of his personality. 

I don't like the cheating in the book. St. Clair should have been man enough to break up with Ellie if his feelings for Anna were THAT strong.

I loved the world building. I could actually picture myself in Paris walking down the streets and learning French. 

The character development was amazing! Everyone had their own distinct personality and I enjoyed getting to know each one individually. 

Stephanie Perkins really knows how to get her readers emotions going. I didn't want this book to end and I am afraid to read and other contemporary for a while because I know nothing will live up to this book.

Overall I gave the book 5/5 Mini Kitties.