Top Ten Books I Wish Had a Sequel

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books I Wish Had a Sequel.

Well I don't actually read too many stand-alone books. I'm a series reader...but there are series that I didn't want to end--at least give us a companion novel.

1) Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, # 3) by Cassandra Clare - I'll admit, I'm one of the few people who probably didn't love how this one ended. I definitely want to know more about what's going on with Tessa and Jem after it ended. Maybe we'll get more info in the last Mortal Instruments or in the new series The Dark Artifices.

2) Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo - So this one was a coming of age story, but I wanted her to "win"...I'd like to see Amelia end up happy and in an successful relationship.

3) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Tell me you wouldn't want to know the happenings of Lizzie and Darcy's married life and the romantic adventures of their children. AND actually written by Jane Austen, not fan fiction.

4) Bitterblue (Graceling Realm, # 3) by Kristin Cashore - I want Bitterblue to have a successful relationship, plus I'd just like more of this world.

5) Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - I don't really want to mess with Ed and Lucy's story, but maybe a companion for this one too. Or shoot, I'd just be happy with more work from Cath Crowley.

6) The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Again, don't want to mess with Sean and Puck, but I'd take a companion. Want more water horses.

7) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - What I'm thinking is prequel. I'm totally interested in how some of the other games went. I'm sure that would be pretty depressing to read though.

8) Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, # 3) by Maggie Stiefvater - I need to know what's going on with Cole St. Claire.

9) Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, # 7) by JK Rowling - So again, I'm fine with where Harry's story ended, but lets get a companion--read about Harry's kids or something. Or even some random other Hogwarts students. I just don't want to leave this world.

10) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - I want to know more about some of the other characters: Renesme and Jacob. Leah...I want to know Leah has a happy ending. Or shoot...just Midnight Sun finished would be good.

Which books would you like to have sequels? Let me know!

If I Stay - Review

If I Stay (If I Stay, # 1)

By: Gayle Forman

Published: January 1st 2009 by Dutton Juvenile

201 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my local library

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Goodreads description--In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

I've seen If I Stay on many people's top lists for various Top 10 Tuesday topics so I knew that I wanted to read it. However, I was browsing my local library's ebook catalog and came across book 2, Where She Went and decided to search to see if they had book 1. Well they did. But in audiobook version. I like audiobooks because I can listen when doing other things. Specifically while I work. However, I find that the story doesn't sink in as much as if I had read it myself. I also find that the narrator doesn't always add emphasis where I would read it--or sarcasm or any other emotion. But I didn't find the narrator of this book, Kirsten Potter, lacking at all. She does a great job infusing emotion into this narration. I almost felt like she might have enhanced the story for me.

I knew that this book was about a girl whose life changes due to a car accident from reading the description above, but I didn't realize what all that would involve. If I Stay is a story about a girl who's having an out of body experience trying to decide if she should stay and live or let go. She watches the events after the accident from the outside of her body. These events mixed with flashbacks from her past help her to make this ultimate of all decisions.

If I Stay is a different kind of book that brought out some deep emotions from within me. I didn't cry throughout the whole thing, but I definitely teared up, and I got chills a couple of times. If I Stay will make you stop to think about what's important in your own life and what you can no longer afford to take for granted. And I love books like that...books that make an impact on how I live my life. I don't want to go into more detail because this book needs to be experienced.

If I Stay lived up to the hype it's received. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to start Where She Went--will be borrowing that from the library ASAP. If I Stay gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read If I Stay? What did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 56 & Stacking the Shelves - 29

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.

This has been a pretty good week. Husband and I watched Life of Pi Friday night. That was NOTHING like I expected it to be. And I loved it. Very emotional. I haven't read the book though. Yesterday I was determined to get some sun because it has rained here almost every weekend since May. And then we also celebrated my niece, Jessie's birthday last night. She's a reader and so part of her gift from us was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

THIS PAST WEEK:

Monday: Review of The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence, # 2) by Jessica Sorensen (4 Stars)
Tuesday: Top Ten Beginnings/Endings
Wednesday: Waiting on The Edge of Always (The Edge of Never, # 2) by JA Redmerski
Thursday: Review of Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series, # 1) by GJ Walker-Smith (3.5 Stars)
Friday: EOM July 2013 Wrap Up

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Review of If I Stay (If I Stay, # 1) by Gayle Forman
Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Sequels
Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday
Thursday: Review of The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never, # 1) by JA Redmerski
Friday: DNF Reviews of Love Among Pigeons by Abria Mattina & The Rising (The New Kid, # 2) by Temple Matthews

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

The Infinite Moment of Us

By: Lauren Myracle

Expected Publication: August 20th 2013 by Amulet Books

336 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

These Broken Stars

By: Amie Kaufman

Expected Publication: December 10th 2013 by Disney Hyperion

384 pages

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

Death Cloud (Young Sherlock Holmes, # 1)

By: Andy Lane

Published: February 1st 2011 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

311 pages

Genre: YA, Mystery, Historical Fiction

Source: Free audio download from Audiobooksync.com

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links suppport giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--It is the summer of 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. On break from boarding school, he is staying with eccentric strangers—his uncle and aunt—in their vast house in Hampshire. When two local people die from symptoms that resemble the plague, Holmes begins to investigate what really killed them, helped by his new tutor, an American named Amyus Crowe. So begins Sherlock’s true education in detection, as he discovers the dastardly crimes of a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

By: Arthur Conan Doyle

Published: first published 1892

336 pages

Genre: Classics, Mystery

Source: Free audio download from Audiobooksync.com

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*Note: The above links to Amazon, Book Depository, and Booksamillion.com are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Crimes. Clues. Adventures. The most famous sleuth of all time is back...now with an introduction by Eoin Colfer

A colonel receives five seeds in the mail--and dies within weeks. A young bride disappears immediately after her wedding. An old hat and a Christmas goose are the only clues to a stolen jewel. A son is accused of his father's murder.

These mysteries--and many more--are brought to the house on Baker Street where detective Sherlock Holmes resides. No case is too tricky for the world's most famous sleuth and his incredible powers of deduction.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

EOM July Wrap Up

I've read 14 books this month:

Hidden (Firelight, # 2) by Sophie Jordan (review coming soon)
This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (review coming soon)
Angel of Mercy (Cambion, # 3) by Shannon Dermott
Crossing the Line (Pushing the Limits, # 1.5) by Katie McGarry (review coming soon)
Jet (Marked Men, # 2) by Jay Crownover
The Truth About Letting Go by Leigh Talbert Moore
Fragments (Partials, # 2) by Dan Wells (review coming soon)
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, # 1) by Michelle Hodkin (review coming soon)
Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series, # 1) by GJ Walker-Smith
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence, # 2) by Jessica Sorensen
The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never, # 1) by JA Redmerski (review coming soon)
The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace (review coming soon)
The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy, # 1) by Jennifer A Nielsen (review coming soon)
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales (review coming soon)

I've reviewed 11 books this month:

The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, # 1) by James Dashner
Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, # 1) by JL Bryan
Losing Hope (Hopeless, # 2) by Colleen Hoover
Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid, # 1) by Richelle Mead
Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm, # 1) by KC Blake
This Girl (Slammed, # 3) by Colleen Hoover
Angel of Mercy (Cambion, # 3) by Shannon Dermott
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, # 1) by Richelle Mead
The Truth About Letting Go by Leigh Talbert Moore
Never Too Far (Too Far, # 2) by Abbi Glines
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden (The Coincidence, # 2) by Jessica Sorensen

Other features:

Top Ten Fictional Crushes
Top Ten Best/Worst Book to Movie Adaptations
Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition
Top Ten Words that Make Me Put Down a Book
Top Ten Beginnings/Endings
Waiting on Left Drowning by Jessica Park
Waiting on Origin (Lux, # 4) by Jennifer L Armentrout
Waiting on Crash Into You (Pushing the Limits, # 3) by Katie McGarry
Waiting on Sweet (True, # 2) by Erin McCarthy
Waiting on The Edge of Always (The Edge of Never, # 2) by JA Redmerski
Sunday Post 52 & Stacking the Shelves 25
Sunday Post 53 & Stacking the Shelves 26
Sunday Post 54 & Stacking the Shelves 27
Sunday Post 55 & Stacking the Shelves 28
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 1
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 2
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 3
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 4
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 5
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 6
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 7
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 8
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 9
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 10
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 11
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 12
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 13
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 14
15 Day Book Blogger Challenge - Day 15

Yearly Books Read Progress:

81 out of 104 books (21 ahead of schedule)

Saving Wishes - Review

Saving Wishes (The Wishes Series, # 1)

By: GJ Walker-Smith

Published: February 2013

368 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate link. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--For Charli Blake, being seventeen is a tough gig.

She's been branded a troublemaker, her reputation is in tatters and she's stuck in Pipers Cove, a speck of a town on the coast of Tasmania.

Thankfully, it's temporary. Her lifelong dream of travelling the world is just months away from becoming reality. All she has to do is ride out the last few months of high school, which is easier said than done thanks to a trio of mean girls known as The Beautifuls.

When Adam Décarie arrives in town, all the way from New York, life takes an unexpected turn. His arrival sets off a chain of events that alters her life forever, convincing her of one thing. Fate brought him to her.

Saving Wishes is the story of a girl who doesn't quite fit the life she's living, and the boy who helps her realise why.

Let's see. First off from reading the description above, two things stuck out to me. 1) The trio of girls called The Beautifuls--cliche much? 2) Fate. So many people have issues with the insta-love that happens so often in YA, specifically paranormal YA. In the past I used to love insta-love and relationships brought together through fate. After reading so many of these and knowing that real substantial relationships are built off of learning things about each other, sharing with each, growing with each other, etc., this aspect of Saving Wishes wasn't something I was looking forward to.

While "The Beautifuls" did end up being the cliche group of mean girls, the name is sarcastic because they're really not all that beautiful physically. And while fate definitely plays a role in the relationship between Charli and Adam, their relationship isn't solely based off that.

Charli is quirky. She believes in fate and magic, faeries, and world changing events. But she's also almost incapable of behaving for any length of time. Charli made a bad decision a while back and while that decision has affected her reputation, I never felt like this played out as the description indicates that it would. Adam, while not initially being a believer of fate, magic, and faeries, is ironically the one who seems to deal more with the insta-love issues.

And while Charli and Adam have a whirlwind romance, it's inevitable that tough choices lie ahead. Adam has to go back to New York for school at some point. And what of Charli's plans of traveling the world with her best friend, Nicole? Charli can't abandon her after they've been planning this trip for somewhere around ten years. I enjoyed how these issues played into Charli and Adam's relationship because impossible decisions are real life. But Charli also has a tendency to drift into this characteristic that I'm really beginning to hate reading about--sacrificing herself and their relationship in order to "save" Adam. Another characteristic that I struggle reading about, comes in the form of characters who speak negatively to themselves, and Charli falls into this trap as well.

Adam's faith in Charli, in their relationship, and in the fate he's recently learned to believe in was refreshing in the midst of my struggles with Charli herself.

There are other struggles along Charli's way that deepen the story, including the strain and deterioration of her relationship with her best friend, living with her much older brother, a French teacher who seems to ride Charli pretty hard but also has a soft spot for her as well, among learning the truth about her mother and father. There's just a lot packed in and GJ Walker-Smith does a pretty good job weaving it all together.

I will say that I didn't love the ending. I mean there wasn't necessarily a cliffhanger, it just ended very abruptly. Luckily for me, the first three or so chapters of book two, Second Hearts, were at the end of my copy and so I got to see a little bit about what happens next and smooths the abrupt ending out just a bit.

Saving Wishes was a cute and fast read. While I had a couple of frustrations, they were all minor, and I look forward to seeing Charli and Adam's story continue to unfold. Saving Wishes gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Saving Wishes? If so, what did you think? Let me know!