Dewey's Read-a-Thon!

So I signed up for the read-a-thon and then real life got in the way. I've been spending a lot of time with my family today as my dad was celebrating his birthday and my parents took me shopping for a sparkly graduation gift :) So I've been having a really good day, but all in all have read only about 3 hours so far. Yeah, that's probably less than what I read on a regular Saturday... Fail.

It's 0.30AM where I live and I'm going to sleep in a little while and wake myself up early so I can participate for the last part of the thon.

Happy reading!! And go all who ARE actually pulling through and have been reading all this time!

Review of The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Title/Author: The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1) by Megan Crewe
Publisher/Date published: Hyperion, January 24th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.
And then you’re dead.
When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island — no one can leave, and no one can come back.
Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.
Because how will she go on if there isn’t?"

The thing that's happening inside The Way We Fall, that right there is one of my biggest fears. Seriously, I know we don't have a cure for a lot of things that should scare me, but a virus or bacteria that we cannot conquer is what creeps the heck out of me. Mostly because I know it's a viable possibility.
So now that I've tried to put the fear in you by being a prophet of DOOM, let's talk about the book.

Because for a book dealing with a subject that's most likely to keep me up at night, The Way We Fall lacked any excitement whatsoever. I mean, I expected being on the edge of my seat and being horrified and just feeling all of those things and emerging breathlessness and not being able to sleep because this is my worst nightmare. Turns out reading about it can actually be rather boring.

Maybe it's the fact that it's written in journal format and it doesn't feel as if the stuff is happening right at that moment. I didn't feel a connection to Kaelyn or any of the other characters. And this meant that although there were lots of awful things happening to her and the people around her, I didn't really feel it. I never felt that I got to know her and maybe it's because she's more of an observer than someone who takes action, but we never really delve into her emotions and character. Which is weird, because she's the one narrating it.

One other thing that bothered me: they let a teenager into the files of all the patients. I mean, hello! Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that?? That rule was broken so many times in The Way We Fall and it got really annoying.

I did think the epidemic was really interesting and I can absolutely imagine everything turning out the way it did. Because really, people get scared. And when people are scared they do things you can't even imagine sitting on your couch wrapped in warm blanket (like I am).
This wasn't a bad book, it just didn't really work for me and I'd expected a little more excitement.

My rating: 2 stars

Daisy Update (8)

Very scary but real: I'm looking for a job. It involves writing application letters and a resumee and calling secretaries asking if they know if there's a job opening and all that. And it's making me feel all grown up! And when I manage to land myself a job I'll have to start worrying about paying rent, health insurance, car insurance (as I'll probably need to get a car) and all such fun stuff. I'm very excited and also starting to think of what to get my parents when I actually get my first paycheck :)

Also: I'm graduating on Tuesday!! Tuesday is the day I get to stand up with 11 other med school students and say 'I promise' after they read the oath of Hippocrates, after which I'll officially be a doctor. I've invited my family and friends and I'm so happy they're all going to be there as it's such a big moment for me!

Apart from looking for a job, I've also been doing other things, mainly reading and spending a bucketload of money on books and clothes. Yeah, that kinda happens when I have time to spare. I've ordered 14 books and pre-ordered another 18 and went to a bookstore to get paper for our printer and got 3 books that were on sale... I SERIOUSLY need to stop buying so many books. I've read 17 books so far and written a whopping 17 reviews which means NO PENDING REVIEWS! Except for all those review books I haven't read yet... But still, I've been doing great right? :)

I've also been spending time with my family and friends and finally had more time to spend with my boyfriend because now I don't fall asleep at 9.30PM and it's been amazing! I know I need to go back to the real world soon and I'm start working at my parttime job again next Thursday. Gotta have some way to support my crazy buying ;)

I was really looking forward to participating in Dewey's Read-a-Thon this Saturday and I thought there'd be no way it wouldn't be manageable. BUT. The world intervened. My dad's birthday is Friday and he decided to celebrate said happy event on Saturday. Also, my parents are buying me something shiny as a graduation gift (AKA jewelry!) and we're going shopping for it Saturday afternoon. This doesn't leave me much time to participate, but I'll try to start early and just read all of Sunday, so I feel like I'm still participating. But yeah, sad I can't pull an all nighter like I'd planned to, but I love spending time with my family and staring at sparkly things :)

And you guys, I've finally been reading 5 star books again!! :D This makes me infinitely happy!

Also, I love Titanic, but when I saw this Youtube video I snorted, it's slightly offensive, but VERY funny:



Speaking of movies, have you guys seen The Hunger Games??? Did you love it??? I DID! :D The only annoying thing was that when we went to the movies, all the obnoxious 13-year-olds in the neighbourhood were there (no offense to 13-year-olds, but these were annoying) and just kept on talking and laughing throughout the movie! Even when a certain someone died and it was a really emotional moment! Seriously! I was not amused.
I was pretty happy with how it turned out, I had some complaints, but all in all it was a great movie for me :)

Anyway, I think that's about it for me. Let me kwow what you've been up to and I hope you all have a great week!

Review of How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back by Sophie Barnes

Title/Author: How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back by Sophie Barnes
Publisher/Date published: Avon Impulse, January 31st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: "Emily Rutherford is having a very bad day.
Of course, having the man you've loved forever announce his engagement to your (now very former) best friend will do that.
Emily is sure nothing good could possibly come out of this horrid situation. But she lets her sistersconvince her that a season in London will be just the thing.
Now Emily has a choice: sulk in a corner while her sisters enjoy the glitter of the ton... or become the belle of the ball, dazzling everyone on an earls arm. But as Francis helps Emily get back on her feet, she quickly realizes that a childhood crush is nothing compared to the power of true love."

I'm a bit on the fence about this story and that's what's going to be very coherent about it, but I'm going give it my best shot!

In this story we meet Emily, Francis and Adrian, who were best friends way back when until Francis changed and pulled back from everyone. Adrian and Emily then went on to be best friends and in Emily's case, to develop tender feeling for the other. Enter Kate, Emily's 'best friend', who she confides in about all this. Apparantly Kate and Adrian have some more contact and instead of asking Emily to marry him like everyone expected, Adrian asks Kate. LET THE DRAMA BEGIN!

What annoyed me a bit is that Emily, her sisters, Adrian's mother, his deaf great uncle and basically everyone in the neighbourhood thought Adrian would be proposing to Emily. And EVERYONE knew how Emily felt about him. Except apparantly for Adrian himself (the big oaf). I could seriously not believe how BLIND everyone was and that NO ONE AT ALL had even the slightest inkling his affections lay elsewhere. I mean, really?

I did like the fact that Francis wanted to step in and rekindle his friendship and maybe more with Emily and all in all Francis was a very acceptable hero. I liked Francis and I liked that he knew what he wanted and was just figuring out how exactly to go about acquiring it.

And Emily, while she was a nice enough person and interesting, she did some really dumb things. I mean, who has ever thought it was a good idea to go to some sleazeball cousin on your own when he's been trying to offer marriage to you knowing that's probably not all he wants right away? SERIOUSLY? I mean, you don't go with the creepy guy with the dirty matress in the back of his van either because he offers you cookies right?
Emily was supposed to be a smart girl and I just thought this rash decision to think the worst of Francis and go off like that to said sleazeball cousin didn't fit with her character.

I liked that they had history and I thought Francis and Emily fit very well together. I enjoyed their romance, but I think I could have done without the whole Charlotte-blackmailing-thing being half the story. It dragged a bit and didn't really work for me.

I did like How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back, I really liked the bond between the sisters and the connection between Francis and Emily, but I'd just been hoping for a little something more.

My rating: 3 stars

Review of Fracture by Megan Miranda

Title/Author: Fracture by Megan Miranda
Publisher/Date published: Walker Books for Young Readers, January 17th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?
Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature - or something much more frightening?"

Oh. My. God. I literally just finished this book about 2 minutes ago and I already know it's one that will stay with my for a LONG time.
This book is SO powerful in its message and tone and really, I am just a bit dazed right now.

People seem to either love or hate it and I can see why. Fracture by Megan Miranda is brutal and it's honest. It's not sugarcoating anything about what is happening in the story: a girl surviving something she shouldn't in all likelihood have survived. This is not something that will leave you being okay after, or at least not right away. And of course your parents aren't going to be okay, this is not something you come back from easily.

Delaney isn't necessarily a likeable person but she is very easy to relate to. She died and then she lived and then she discovers she can feel when people are about to die. Of course she's scared and lashing out! Sometimes the honesty in Megan Miranda's writing was almost painful, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

And can I just say that I really liked Decker? I mean, he does some seriously stupid stuff, but he's a good guy and he cares about Delaney. And he READ to her when she got headaches from reading. I really don't need another reason to like him.

The only thing is, I kept wondering thoughout the novel if Delaney's survival or her newfound abilities would be explained and I'm kinda bummed that they weren't. The scientist in me is dying to know!

Fracture was brutal and honest and totally compelling and it's a story that will not be easily forgotten. I can absolutely see why it's not for everyone, but I really enjoyed reading it. This was a very powerful debut and I'm looking forward to finding out what Megan Miranda will write next!

My rating: 4,5 stars

Graduation Happiness Giveaway winner!

Thanks so much to everyone for your well wishes and entering the giveaway! I loved hearing what you'd all get if you were celebrating something :)

If anyone's curious, I ended up buying:

And Then He Kissed Her by Laura Lee Guhrke
Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan
Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Demon Trapper's Daugher by Jana Oliver
A Witch In Winter by Ruth Warburton
Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
The Selection by Kiera Cass
The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Nine Rules To Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean
Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean
Eleven Scandals to Start to Win A Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean
Snow White and the Huntsman by Lily Blake

I kinda went a little crazy ;)

But you're all waiting to hear the winner:

Kat Vela

Congrats!! I already e-mailed her and am waiting to hear back what book she picks out. If I don't hear back in 48 hours another winner will be named.

Thanks again for entering everyone!

Review of A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

Title/Author: A Rogue By Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels #1) by Sarah MacLean
Publisher/Date published: Avon, March 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley and pre-ordered myself a shiny finished copy! :)

Goodreads summary: "What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets...
A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance — including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.
A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to such unexplored pleasures.
Bourne may be a prince of London’s underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness — a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them... even her heart."

You guys, it feels like I've been waiting FOREVER for this book!! After reading and loving the book in the Love By Numbers trilogy I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. And while I think I love her other books more, this book didn't disappoint me in the least!

I LOVED that Penelope and Michael (Bourne) had history together! I mean, they grew up together, so of course they knew each other pretty well. Because of this it wasn't hard to believe at all that they fell for each other in the space of a week.

I really, really liked Penolope! Ever since Eleven Scandals To Start To Win A Duke's Heart, I'd been wanting to find out more about this 'perfect Penelope' and if she would find her happily ever after in the end. Cause let's face it, being jilted by a duke who everyone thinks is passionless, who then proceeds to marry another woman within a week isn't the beginning of that usually. And it wasn't for Penelope, she had a hard time of it, but she came out a lot stronger because of it.

And it takes a strong woman to love Michael Bourne. Really, that man is an expert at pushing people away and even though he has his better qualities, I don't know if I could have done what Penny did and wait until he came to his senses. I loved that she didn't just wait around, but actually confronted him about his actions. And of course love conquers all, as it should in a historical romance novel!

Sarah MacLean definitely knows how to tell a lovestory and she had me smiling broadly within 12 pages of starting the book! I love how she mixes romance with humour and the sexytimes are REALLY good. But most of all: she makes me feel ALL THE THINGS! Happy, sad, anxious, everything. I finished this book within 24 hours of starting this and would have done so sooner if it hadn't been for the fact that sometimes I should also pay a little attention to my boyfriend ;)

I am pre-ordering the next book in the series: One Good Earl Deserves A Lover, which is about Penelope's sister Pippa and from the little preview I got of it at the end of A Rogue By Any Other Name it's gonna be another amazing read! Reading this one actually has me itching to re-read the Love By Numbers series and if you haven't, it's obviously very much recommended!

My rating: 4,5 stars