Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title/Author: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher/Date published: Scholastic, first published in 2009
How I got this book: bought it at a booksale, yay for booksales!
Why I read this book: I heard really good things about it and though werewolves aren't really my thing, I decided to read it anyway.

Goodreads summary: "the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf — her wolf — watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.
the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace... until now.
the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human — and Grace must fight to keep him — even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future."

I'm not really into werewolves. I'm not sure why, I'm just not. So, even though everyone and their aunt has been raving about this book, I've put off reading it. Until I found it at a booksale and couldn't resist buying it (I have a serious book buying addiction and I can't for the life of me resist a bargain).

It seems that around the blogosphere, this is one of those infamous 'hit-or-miss' reads. And it wasn't for me, I think I actually fell right into the middle. While I didn't love it, I didn't dislike it. And the werewolve thing actually didn't bother me that much, so props to the author for that.

I thought the whole taking the werewolve thing literally (in Dutch it's called a weerwolf, which translates literally as weather-wolf) and making it be the cold that changes them instead of the moon was really interesting. I also appreciated the not going crazy killer of the wolves when they transformed. They just went canine, not killing machine. Definite yay for that.

Grace, though she seems like a nice girl, did not make me care for her. She felt a bit disconnected and even though she thought about how much she loved Sam, I just didn't really feel it myself. Her parents aren't very parental and because of this, Grace had to be the grown up in that family and does not appreciate her parents suddenly trying to tell her what to do when it comes to Sam. The only time I felt connected to her was when she let herself be real about the hurt her parents cause her by being so absent.

A rare thing for me, I actually connected more to Sam. I almost never connect very well to boys, it's easier with girls/women. Sam is a beautiful boy/wolf and I loved that he had lyrics in his head for the things that happened around him. He has huge emotional scars from his past and I felt so sad for him for what he went through. And I loved how he was trying to be such a gentleman around Grace, he seemed almost from another time.

It all went a bit slow for my taste, but the ending had a bit of an unput-downable factor, though not really edge-of-my-seat-oh-my-gosh-shut-up-I'm-reading!! quality. But it was an enjoyable read and I will probably read the sequel.

My rating: 3 stars

The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason

Title/Author: The Vampire Voss (Regency Draculia #1) by Colleen Gleason
Publisher/Date published: March 29th 2011 by MIRA books
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Regency London - a dizzying whirl of balls and young ladies pursued by charming men. But the Woodmore sisters are hunted by a more sinister breed: Lucifer's own. Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule - a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls - the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral... until Angelica. Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger - for her body and blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him - to protect her."

For some reason, this book just did not do it for me. I don't know what it is exactly, but I really had to push myself to read on and finish the book. I didn't dislike it enough to not finish it, but I didn't really felt the urge to continue it either. Maybe adult paranormal romance is just not for me (I love the YA paranormal romances), the accent for me needs to be more on the paranormal I think.

I've had mixed experiences with books about vampires, Twilight was enjoyable, but the books that came after it were less so and let's just not talk about Breaking Dawn. I did really enjoy Vampire Academy, Rose kicks some serious butt. This one, while not being my thing, had some interesting things to add to common vampire-lore. I really liked that in Gleason's take on it, vampires have something, and it can be anything, that will make them weak. Weak enough to get them killed easily. Even by a mere mortal. I also liked the fact that they have Lucifer's marking on their back and that it hurts when he's displeased with them.

Voss isn't very angsty, which was nice. He's a vampire, he can live forever, what else would he be doing but search for pleasure in any way he sees fit? No remorse whatsoever, until he meets Angelica. This is where things start to change and he goes a bit Angel (you know, from Buffy) on us. I don't even know what to say about Angelica, she was a bit bland to me. The only thing I can say for her is that she seems to be a caring sister. I thought her brother was pretty selfish and I didn't like him very much, he just up and left his sisters with a vampire to look after them. Hardly appropriate.

All in all, this was just not for me, I didn't connect with the characters and that's a big thing for me.
My rating: 2 stars

Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the other blog I participate in: The Broke and the Bookish. We are particularly fond of lists, so hop on over and show us yours!

This week's Top Ten:
Your Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves
All those things that annoy you as a reader.

1. Endings that don't fit the story: I'm all for happy endings, really, I am. But you can't have the main character during the whole book falling from nasty thing into horrifying event and THEN have them doing happy dances and singing songs at the end. Seriously. That's just wrong. Which is exactly why I thought the Hunger Games' ending worked, it fits the series.

2. Instant-love, just add water: I love me some good romance, but instant love is not believable. Instant attraction is, but not love. That's something that grows over time. Sure you can be soulmates, but you can't tell me you know that after seeing someone for 3 seconds.

3. Deus ex machina endings: if the divine are going to come in and save the day, then WHY was the hero/heroine fighting that hard up until that point?? There's really no point and it kind of ruins the story.
For me this can also apply to anything that makes it to easy to defeat the bad guy, as in: evildoer, you're allergic to cauliflower? How CONVENIENT.

4. Plot holes: big gaping holes of DOOM I get confused over.

5. Instant-knowledge/power/ability: this sort of goes hand in hand with instant-love and deus ex machina, I want to know the characters worked for what they can do. Sure you can have some natural ability, but you don't go from little weakling to all-powerful in the blink of an eye. That's just wrong.

6. Being evil for the sake of evil: this can go for the obvious villains like tyrant leaders to the mean girl in high school: no-one is nasty without a reason. I want the arch-enemies to be 3D as well.

7. Stereotypical characters: yes, I read a lot of romance novels and in those this happens a lot, BUT there's no need for the lady in the novel to be always waiting on the dashing lord to save her. She can do a little fending for herself if she feels so inclined instead of simpering in the corner.

8. Whiny/bratty teenagers: well, whiny characters as a whole, but whiny teenagers make my toes curl in a very bad way.

9. Desciptions of things I don't care about that go on and on and on and on (OMG, it's never going to end!!): I love a little detail, but there is such a thing as taking it too far and getting lost in the merits of an ant crawling across a wall or the whole of Russian politics in the 19th century.

10. Waiting sooooo long for the next book in a series: this one doesn't have to do with the story itself, but OMG, the wait for some books nearly kills me! Seriously. And then the publication date gets pushed further back and I'm tearing my hair out in anticipation. Not pretty.

I actually made it to 10! Tell me if you share some of my pet peeves!

Songs for Saturday (2)

I thought it was time to put the spotlight on some of the songs I love again. I've recently fallen in love with Sara Bareilles' new CD 'Kaleidoscope', it's amazing! I loved her first album 'Little Voices' and saw her perform live, which was so, so beautiful.
The one song that keeps playing in my head over and over again:



Beautiful!

I also discovered she did a really cool cover of Beyonce's Single Ladies, a completely different interpretation.

And I'm going to see this Dutch band on Wednesday, they're fairly new and I think they'll be amazing live!



Any new songs that have caught your attention? Or older ones that still hold a special place in your heart? Please do share! :)

Currently Reading: The Wise Man's Fear

'

No spoilers, I promise, just me raving about the book so far :)

I'm about halfway through and I'm LOVING it!! Rothfuss is an amazing writer and has managed to make me feel part of this world again. I love Kvothe and all the other characters in the book and some I love to hate (Ambrose anyone?).
The only problem I have is that it's heavy. The book is huge, which I love, cause it means more story-goodness. But I can't take it with me as easily as I would like.
But the hardcover is totally pretty, so it's worth it.

Anyway, I'm gonna go and continue reading, this book makes me want to hole up in my house and ignore all other unimportant things like class/hunger/sleepiness.

The Devil's Temptress by Laura Navarre

Title/Author: The Devil's Temptress by Laura Navarre
Publisher/Date published: February 15th 2011 by Dorchester Publishing
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "In the glittering, sumptuous court of Eleanor of Acquitaine, betrayal lurks around every corner. The queen is at odds with her king, and to obey one could mean treason against the other. Even Alienore, considered the most virtuous lady at court, holds secrets; He is called the Raven — his face scarred by a Saracen blade, his voice raspy with the effects of Greek fire. His parentage is unknown, his prowess legendary. And he'll sell his sword to the highest bidder. As his piercing eyes track her every move, Alienore wonders who he's working for now."

So, I've read a lot of historical romances lately. And most of them share a common trait: it's not so much about the historical as the romance, with balls and pretty dresses. This one actually dealt with the history and I've never read anything set in the time of Eleanor of Aquitane before, so that was refreshing as well.

I'm kind of conflicted about how I should review this, because while I really enjoyed most of the book, there were also things I had issues with.
Alienore is a likeable heroine, she is brave and loyal and there's this thing I have for women dressing up like men (this is how we meet her the first time). Though she does it only once in the book, it made me like her right away.

And then there's the Raven, by the way: it totally bothered me not knowing his first name for almost the whole book. And I know, it's mysterious, blah-di-blah, it didn't ring any bells when I finally learned what it was, so it wasn't that important to the storyline. He's conflicted and has good reason to be. I thought the author gave him a good voice, except for the occasion in which he expressed certain sexual desires in his mind, which left me going: wait, WHAT DID HE JUST THINK??? Completely out of context and unnecessary in my opinion.

They did have wonderful chemistry and I cried for them when they were figuring things out, I loved it. I'm also intrigued by Eleanor of Aquitane and feel like I should get to know her better. If I'm correct, her son Richard is Richard Lionheart? He comes across as a total sleazeball in this book, which I have a hard time connecting with the King Richard from Robin Hood...

I was a bit confused by the timelime of Alienore's childhood, but that could be just me. I didn't get how she could have spent 6 years in a convent and raised a wolf at the same time at home. She has a pet wolf, how cool is that?
One other thing I had issues with: the author mentions Raven having 'self-hatred churning in his belly'. Seriously? This is a big strong man, he doesn't have a belly, that sounds so childish. Not manly at all.

Reading this, I sound kind of negative. But I'm not, honestly. It was a really nice story and I liked the main characters, the things mentioned above just stood out to me and made me pause and go HUH?! in an otherwise enjoyable read.

My rating: 3,5 stars

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title/Author: Wither (Chemical Garden #1) by Lauren DeStefano
Publisher/Date published: March 22nd 2011 by Simon & Schuster
How I got this book: received it from the publisher
Why I read this book: are you kidding me? This book sounds totally awesome. YOU should read it.

Goodreads summary: "What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape — to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left."

So, the whole blogging world is buzzing about this book. Or at least the ones I've read lately. And with good reason, I might add. This book is a stunning debut. Reading this, I should have been looking for a topic for my evidence-based-medicine paper (while writing this review, I should be finishing said paper). But I just could not force myself away from this book, and not just because I don't like writing EBM-related papers. It was really amazing.

The world DeStefano has created is horrifying. Though cancer is a thing of the past thanks to genetic manipulation, you now only live to see the age of 20 if you're a girl, and 25 is you're a guy. The whole idea of a virus being triggered and killing you (pretty horribly might I add) is definitely scary and not so unimaginable for a med student like me.

A big effect of this, which I hadn't thought of, is that most kids loose their parents when they're 6 years old (if they're lucky, cause that would mean your mother had you at 14). Most kids live on the streets, stealing to make a living. Can you imagine being 5 or 6 and having to look after yourself? I was tucked into bed and read a bedtime story at that age.

The relationship between Rhine and her two sister-wives is very complicated and amazing. I loved how both the other wives had their own voice and were really fleshed out characters. Rhine is a strong girl herself and really just wants to go back to her twin brother, who I hope we'll get to meet in the next book.
Linden, the husband, is a confusing character and so naive I wanted to slap him on the back of the head sometimes. Seriously.
His dad is totally creepy and seems evil, though I get that he wants to do everything in his power to make sure his son will survive.

The romance isn't over the top and while it's there, Rhine doesn't let her universe revolve around it. Which is pretty nice in my opinion. I thought the whole thing was very sweet and would love to see it develop further in the series.

All in all, I thought this book was amazing and it nearly brought me to tears due to something I won't mention, cause I don't want to spoil anything. But in case you want to know, light up the following:
Jenna's death. So, so sad!

Oh, and have I mentioned the cover love I have for this one? The details are incredible (the ring, the bird).
Go read it. Now. I promise it's not overly hyped. It's hyped just right.

My rating: 5 stars