Top 10 Tuesday - Posts Giving A Picture of Me

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Posts on my Blog that Give a Picture of Me as a Person and a Reader.

These first three posts are where I've posted information about myself...random facts, answering questions, etc.

1. Versatile Blog Award - 7 Random Facts About Me

2. Liebster Blog Award - 11 Random Facts About Me & 16 Questions I Answered About Myself

3. Armchair BEA - Introductions - 7 Questions Answered About Myself

The next two are reviews I've done of two of the books I've loved the most since I started blogging.

4. Clockwork Prince Review

5. Pushing the Limits Review

The next two are reviews I've done of two of the books I've liked the least since I started blogging.

6. Beautiful Darkness Review

7. The Soulkeepers Review.

The next three are kind of random picks to round out a picture of me as a person and reader.

8. Top 10 Tuesday - Childhood Favorites

9. Armchair BEA - Real Life Experiences - Where I go into detail about my one experience meeting an author.

10. Top 10 Books I'd Want With Me on a Desert Island AND/OR Push Review - I couldn't decide between these two. The Top 10 Tuesday shows some of my humor, but the Push Review has more about my personal story.

And of course you could always check out my About Me page.

So that's it. That's as much of "Me" as I guess I've shared on here anyway. How do you like me now?

Please overlook any typos...I know they're there.

Incarceron - Review

Incarceron

By: Catherine Fisher

Published: January 26th 2010 by Dial (first published May 3rd 2007)

442 pages

Source: Borrowed from my local library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

Incarceron, oh Incarceron. The originality of the idea of a prison being alive and a few of its inmates planning to escape is what drew me into this book. It’d been on my TBR list ever since the first time I saw the cover and read the description. However, the idea didn’t pan out as well as I’d hoped.

I’ve been finished with Incarceron for several days now, but I’m still finding it hard to put my thoughts into words. More importantly, words just aren’t coming to me. The pacing of the book felt slow. I wasn’t really hooked. I forced myself to keep reading hoping that eventually I would get hooked. There were small pieces that kept me interested to see if they were going to hook me, but they never really did. Like a string being dangled in front of a cat—I kept pawing at it, but I was never really able to grab on.

Other than the pacing feeling incredibly slow, the swapping of narrators was also a bit…annoying for me in this one. Sometimes I love books that swap narrators, but it has to be done just right. Incarceron doesn’t land into that group for me. Not to mention that I never really connected with any of the characters on an emotional level.

But above all of that, probably the biggest criticism I have for my experience with this book was that I had a hard time picturing what I was reading. It’s almost torture for me to read a (storytelling) book I cannot picture in my head. I wondered if maybe it was because the story included so many elements that I haven’t personally experienced in my life, but then I figured out that wasn’t it. Because believe it or not, I’ve never experienced a wizarding world such as was created in the lovely Harry Potter series (and plenty of others) in my real life. So that leaves me with the author’s descriptions/writing to blame for this. Plus we all know that I’m not a fan of “portals” (alternate worlds, dimensions, universes—not to be confused with other planets or different worlds entirely. I think it’s the travel aspect that bothers me more than anything.) discussed in my review of Wilde's Fire.

So yeah. I mean I didn’t hate the book, I just really don’t have much “feeling” toward it at all. It won’t be one I want to re-read. It probably won’t be one I remember very much about as the years go on and I read more and more. And while I’m completely OCD about finishing a series if I’ve started one, I honestly have no desire to pick up book 2, Sapphique. Incarceron ended in a way that I honestly felt closure with it. And while I’m also OCD about reading the first chapter of the next book if it’s included at the end (and was the case this time as well), I didn’t even feel the slightest pull towards reading Chapter 1 of Sapphique.

I know there are people out there that loved this book, and while I’m glad they were able to enjoy it, this book just wasn’t for me. Have you read Incarceron? What did you think? Let me know! (2.9 Stars)

In My Mailbox - 14 & Sunday Post - 5

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers can discuss the books we got in the mail this week.

From the Library:

Along for the Ride

By: Sarah Dessen

Published: June 16th 2009 by Viking Juvenile (first published June 1st 2009)

383 pages

Source: Borrowed from my local library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

This is my first Sarah Dessen...we'll see how I like it.

From NetGalley for Review:

Speechless

By: Hannah Harrington

Expected Publication: August 28th 2012 by HarlequinTeen

336 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--The story of a girl named Chelsea Knot who takes a voluntary oath of silence after her gossip-mongering ways yield unexpected consequences…

Saying she’s sorry isn’t enough.

Beautiful Disaster

By: Jamie McGuire

Published: May 26th 2011 by Jamie McGuire

361 pages

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description--The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Because I already participate in the In My Mailbox meme (above), I'm just going to use this one as way to recap my week.

THIS PAST WEEK:

Oh my goodness guys. This has been a busy week for me and the blog. (Well busier than my normal week on the blog.)

On Monday, I posted my review of One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (3.5 Stars).

On Tuesday, I participated in Top 10 Tuesday where I listed my Top 10 Characters I'd Like to Switch Places with for 24 Hours. I totally love Top 10 Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I shared a book I'm anxiously awaiting in Waiting on Wednesday...The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead.

On Thursday, I had a guest post written by my friend Paula. It was a review of Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis. And I was also nominated by Joie @ Joie De Lire for the Versatile Blog Award.

Oh and completely non-book related, but still kind of cool (I think anyway), I wrote an article for my brother's website, Chasing A Lion, called The Prayer Bowl. That's it for this past week.

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday, I've got a review of Incarceron for you. Tuesday is Top 10 Tuesday, and I'll be listing the Top 10 Post on My Blog That Give the Best Picture of Me as a Person and as a Reader. I'll be featuring a book I'm stoked about in Waiting on Wednesday. And Thursday, I'll be bringing you my review of Confessions of an Angry Girl. And that's all I've got planned for now.

What books did you guys get in your mailbox this past week? Any bookish things going on in your world that you're really excited about? Let me know!

Versatile Blog Award

So Joie at Joie De Lire nominated me for this award! Thank you so much Joie!!!! I'm stoked.

The Rules Are:

1. Nominate 15 other bloggers relatively new to blogging.

2. Let the bloggers know that you've nominated them.

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

Blogs I'm Nominating for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Lost For Stories

2. Reading N Reviewing

3. Too Many Books

4. The Page Sage

5. Bookish Outsider

6. Written By Brittan

7. Emily Hearts Books

8. The Story Spirit

9. The Armchair Traveller

10. Story Bound

11. Downright Dystopian

12. The Story Behind the Book Cover

13. Read Write Love

14. Peace Love YA

15. Quixotic Magpie

7 Random Facts About Me:

1. Mosquitos are attracted to me. I can’t walk outside without getting attacked. This random fact makes the list because I currently have a mosquito bite that’s itching like mad.

2. I count my calories.

3. I’m a nerd. I was salutatorian of my high school class, but once I got to college, I used to figure out what the minimum grade was I needed on each assignment just to finish the class with a passing grade. Lazy I know, but I was just ready to be done with it.

4. I read multiple books at a time instead of finishing one and starting another. At the present, I have probably about 10 started, though I’m not actively reading all 10.

5. I had a dog named Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Rumplestiltskin Harris once—best dog I ever had. But mostly I just called him Teddy.

6. Not that this deserves to come in next to last on my list or anything, but I’m a Christian. I’m proud to be one because my God and Father sent His Son to die for me so that I might live with Him forever.

7. I think I’m a slow reader. I believe I only read 40ish books last year. This year my goal is 52. I’m currently ahead of schedule, but I look around and see other people reading 300 and I don’t know how they do it. But then I shrug my shoulders and go on about my day.

Thanks again to Joie who nominated me.

Prince of Wolves - Guest Review

So turns out I did get my friend Paula to agree to do a guest post for me. She's one my real-life reading buddies. We work together and as soon as I'm done with a book she's one of the next people in line to read it, and I'm definitely the next in line to read any books that she's finished. She's such a great friend, she's even let me take her actual kindle for a week or two to read a couple of books that weren't loanable--there's always a work around. So without further ramblings. Here's Paula with a guest review of Prince of Wolves...

Prince of Wolves (The Grey Wolves # 1)

By: Quinn Loftis

Published: June 29th 2011

216 pages

Source: Got for free on my Kindle, Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

Goodreads description-- Jaque Pierce was just an ordinary 17 year old girl getting ready to start her senior year in high school in Coldspring, Texas. When a mysterious foreign exchange student from Romania moves in across the street, Jacque and her two best friends, Sally and Jen, don't realize the last two weeks of their summer was going to get a lot more interesting. From the moment Jacque sets eyes on Fane she feels an instant connection, a pull like a moth to a flame. Little does she know that the flame she is drawn to is actually a Canis lupis, werewolf, and she just happens to be his mate; the other half of his soul. The problem is Fane is not the only wolf in Coldspring, Texas. Just as Fane and Jacque are getting to know each other, another wolf steps out to try and claim Jacque as his mate. Fane will now have to fight for the right to complete the mating bond, something that is his right by birth but is being denied him by a crazed Alpha. Will the love Fane has for Jacque be enough to give him the strength to defeat his enemy, will Jacque accept that she is Fane's mate and complete the bond between them?

I received one of Sandy’s "In My Mailbox" posts, and this particular book caught my eye. After reading the description and seeing that it was available for Kindle, I hopped over to Amazon to discover that it was still available on the free list (too good to pass up, especially since I had nothing to lose). Although I didn’t recognize the author’s name, I was drawn to the werewolf theme (I normally like anything supernatural) and dived right in.

The book grabs you immediately by pairing Jacquelyn (small town Texas girl, and the heroine) and Fane (her werewolf mate from Romania, although he’s realized it but she hasn’t) together. The book is fast paced, and in a matter of days, Jacque realizes that she and Fane are meant to be (just as he says). However, there are characters who pop in to tear Jacque and Fane apart . True love prevails, but at what cost?

I absolutely loved the idea behind this book, and its originality. However, I felt that although the idea was great, it was poorly executed. There were a good bit of grammatical and spelling errors, and just too many “yeah right” moments for me. Also, Jacque and her best friends, Jen and Sally, spewed enough Southern slang to grate on the most patient person’s nerves.

For those reasons, I give it three stars. But, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t LOVE this series. The author’s cliffhangers leave you begging for more, and I’ve wanted so much more that I’m ready to begin the fourth book in the series (the author’s writing and plot detail have very much improved by this point). And by now, I’m in love with the characters in this book.

Check out The Grey Wolves Series, you won’t be sorry!

Thanks Paula for supporting my blog and doing this guest review for me.

Have any of you read Prince of Wolves? What did you think? Let me know!