Follow Friday!

Question of the week...

What is the book that you really don't want to admit to loving??

This is a hard question because I'm fine with admitting to liking any book.  Maybe it's the Twilight series?  I used to love them, like absolutely love them so much that I'd read it a couple times, but everyone sort of hates them now, and I can see why... :)

--♥--

I know it seems like I apologize a lot for totally disappearing this week, but I'M SORRY!  I was at Baylee's house, and we were working on a review for Delirium (link leads to review)that was supposed to be like a "conversation."  You can check it out if you want, and please give us feedback on it (if you want to of course)!  It's really new to us and I'm not sure if it totally worked, and I kind of felt like maybe we just repeated what we said to each other throughout the review. 

Hope you guys have an awesome weekend!

Cleo :)

Review: Delirium

NOTE: So you are not completely confused, Cleo and I (Baylee) are doing this review as a "conversation" meaning we're sort of talking to each other about the book, like a discussion.  

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Date Released: February 1st, 2011
Pages: 441
Rating: 5 out of 5 (Cleo) & 4 out of 5 (Baylee)

Description:

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Review:

PLOT

Baylee: I think the plot was very original, and I liked the idea of love being treated as a disease just because its not something you see very often.

Cleo: Yeah, I totally agree with you on how the whole idea was really original :D  I TOTALLY LOVED the concept of the book.

Baylee: Oh Cleo, always a positive response (: I agree except for the ending. I absolutely hated the ending. BUT people reading this review DON'T BE MISLEAD by my little rant (which we will include as a spoiler later on in the review for those of you who wish to see it). This book was really really really really really good! The ending only creates a problem for me with the SEQUEL and how it's all going to work out. I'm really starting to like these types of books that are about challenging those who are in control in order to advocate the right to love whoever you wish to, and I think it makes for strong and interesting plot twists that are realistic. But I really do like the writing style of Lauren Oliver and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I was going to.

Cleo: I really like Lauren Oliver's writing style, too, like her first novel, Before I Fall, which was really good, but that's sort of beside the point.  Anyhoo, I LOVED THE ENDING!  It's definitely a sad ending and I still don't see why you didn't like it.  It leaves you on a big cliffhanger which definitely leaves you wanting more.  I can't wait until the next one comes out!!  I also really loved the characters as well, especially Lena because she was really courageous.

Baylee: I think...well to me anyway, rebellious is a better word to describe Lena because I think she was always like that underneath. I think she's the type of person to see things below the surface and read between the lines. Which is, basically, questioning the what her society has been force feeding them for a very long time. Unfortunately, I think if she hadn't met Alex, she might have just followed the rules for the rest of her life....and it seems I have drifted off the subject and into characters so why don't we just go ahead and address that eh Cleo?

CHARACTERS

Cleo: All the characters in this book were awesome.  I definitely loved Lena and Alex because even though Lena has a rebellious side, she also has a lot of courage, because to be able to stand up to your own society that has basically controlled everything takes A LOT of courage.  Alex is my favorite because he was really sweet and not like all the other guys in this book, as you will see.

Baylee: I liked Alex because, even though Lena describes him as TOTALLY gorgeous, he's the type guy who doesn't notice or doesn't care. A lot of the main guys in popular YA books today are gorgeous guys who know it and use it to their advantage, or as a part of their personality. Taking Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instrument series, those of us who have have read it know that he's extremely gorgeous and its a big part of his "sarcastic" character and although I love Jace, I thought it was refreshing to see a guy that was very down to earth and he just wanted to get back to his home so Im officially and Alex fan :D

Cleo:  Count me in Baylee, I'm an Alex fan, too!!  :D :D I also agree with you on Alex's personality because he is a nice guy and is totally down to earth and I think that's why everyone probably likes him- or will like him.  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Delirium and totally can't wait for the sequel!

Okay, so now for Baylee's (my) Spoiler Rant! tada

Please highlight to read!


Okay so I didn't like the end how Alex gets left behind because earlier in the book they talk about how if they get caught, the punishment would be immediate execution. Also it was kind of confusing (or maybe I was just reading too fast, because I have a habit of doing that) but it sounded like he died the first time I read it so I was also confused on whether he was dead or captured. So My problem is...what happens? Like, does the sequel pick up right after she escapes? because if it doesn't, wouldn't that mean Alex is should pretty much be considered dead? And if it doesn't pick up right where it left off and yet Lena somehow manages to save him don't you think that would be a little too unrealistic? Or he is basically dead and Lena is now lost in the Wilds with no idea on how to find her mother? I don't know, in my opinion the ending was a good cliffhanger, but it left too much to the imagination. So, that is my opinionated rant and I hope it made your mind think and you enjoyed reading it. If you did not....well...them Im sorry :( TTFN! :D

Cover Review:
AWESOME COVER!  I absolutely love this shade of blue on the cover, and also how in each letter, you see a part of her face, if that even makes sense.  I really love the swirly lines that branch out of the letters because it gives this calm and refreshing feel, even though this book is far from calm.


Cleo & Baylee :)


*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy purchased.

Cover Reveal!

This week, I've been seeing this cover here and there...

YES! IT'S THE FOURTH INHERITANCE BOOK, Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini.  Isn't that totally awesome??  I think that I've been waiting for this cover/book to come out ever since I finished Brisingr like three years ago.  Sheesh, Christopher Paolini sure does know how to keep his readers waiting.

Honestly though, I'm not totally sure if I'll read it.  I might change my mind, but I've read the first three so long ago that I don't even know if I'll be able to remember anything :/  And I don't have my copies here, so we'll just have to wait and see when this comes out later this year.  But, Eragon did get me started on reading "bigger" books.  If you read my Follow Friday post for today, then you know what I'm talking about.  If you want to see it, it's the 5th point.

Hope you guys have an awesomely super duper specatcular weekend!

Cleo :)

Follow Friday!

This week's question...

Inspired by the inane twitter trend of #100factsaboutme, give us five BOOK RELATED silly facts about you.

1. I have a pet peeve that is book related... and it's that I don't like reading books that are ruined or "dirty" which basically means that it has like food in it or something.  This makes me sound like a bad person, doesn't it?
2. Because my pet peeve is dirty books, I don't really like checking books out of the library.  I know this is a horrible pet peeve!  Especially if you looove reading books!  But I serioulsy can't help it!  Baylee thinks I have like an OCD problem or something, because I can't stand dirty feet either.
3. BUT!  The good news is that I've recently gotten back to borrowing books from the library (but they have to look new hahaha) I used to, when I was in middle school because they had a huge selection, and always had new ones coming in.  Oh, how I miss that library...  The library at my high school has an okay selection, but they don't really update it that often.  I go to my local library though, which doesn't have the biggest selection, but I think it's because they've probably only started really adding to the young adult section recently because most of the books are fairly recent, like I checked out Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber, and Firelight by Sophie Jordan, which have all come out somewhat recently. 
4. For some reason, I use to juggle like 3 or 4 books at a time, but now I stick with only one :)  Trust me, it's a lot easier.
5. When I was little, I was always scared of reading really big books.  So, in 5th grade, when I had to do a student led conference, I had to set goals for myself, and one of them went along the lines of this, "I want to be able to read big books like Eragon."  In 6th grade, I took on that challenge, and ever since, I've been reading fat books like that :)  Well, maybe not that fat, because Eragon is a very fat book, and most of mine are 300-400 pages, where as Eragon is like 5oo or so. 

Sooo, those are my 5 silly book related facts :)  And they most of them somehow managed to turn into paragraphs... Hope you enjoyed them!  And of course I'd love to read yours, so just leave a comment below and I'll go search for it on your blog!

Cleo :)

Waiting on Wednesday (10)

Oh my goodness!  I've basically neglected this meme for like 3 months!  I do have a lot of books that I'm waiting for, so I don't see why I stopped... Anyhoo, this is a weekly meme, which is brought to you by Jill at Breaking the Spine!  This meme is where you can post a post about what you're really look forward to. And I'm always looking forward to new releases :D

This week I'm waiting for (very impatiently)... Defiance by Lili St. Crow!

Here's a description, which you have to highlight because I'm afraid that it might contain *spoilers* if you haven't read it yet:

The heart-stopping fourth novel in New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series.

Now that sixteen-year-old Dru's worst fears have come true and Sergej has kidnapped her best friend Graves, she'll have to go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring him back in one piece.

That is, if she can put all of Christophe's training to good use, defeat her mother's traitor, Anna, once and for all, and manage to survive another day . . .

Who can't wait for this book either!!  I'm just dying to know what will happen next in Dru's story!  This comes out on April 19th of this year... Which is soon!  So if you haven't read the first three (the first being Strange Angels) then you should definitely pick it up!

If you have read the first three already, isn't this series really good?

Cleo :)

Crazy Cover (15)

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme that was created by Tawni over at The Book Worms to show which cover(s) you are absolutely going crazy over!

This week,  I love the cover for Entangled by Cat Clarke!

I haven't read this book yet, but it does sound like a very good read.  Anyways, here's why I like it:

• I looooove her red hair!  It's so vibrantly red, and it's what really captures your attention, in my opinion.
• I love the color palette that they chose, because the white doesn't overpower the red, and the contrast between the models pale skin and the red hair really makes the red pop out.
• The little design that looks like it's on her skin, but isn't really since it overlaps her fingers, is really cool as well.  I absolutely love little designs like that and I honestly wish that I were a better drawer and more creative just to be able to to things like that.  If you can actually do a design like that, I think I'm going to have to steal your creativity :P
• I absolutely love the font that they used as well, and how it's red.  I think that I have already gotten the point across that I like the color red on this cover... Oh well :)

Any thoughts on this cover?  Do you like it?  Or not like it at all?

Cleo :)

Mini Challenge: Teams

You don't even know how much I love this mini challenge!  This mini challenge is brought to you by Princess Bookie for her Contest Craze event.

Basically, in this challenge, I have to explain why I'm on a certain team for a book, TV show, movie, etc.  Just to let you know, I have like millions, because of course there are like 20 million love triangles in this world.  Of course, that's an exaggeration, but it could be something close to that ;)

Today, I think I'm going to do Team Ren vs. Team Shay from Nightshade by Andrea Cremer.

And do you wanna know which team I'm on?

♥Team Ren♥ 

Yep, Team Ren all the way *sigh*  I chose this team because it's extremely unusual for me to go for the underdog (ex. I'm also Team Ash and Team Peeta, and both of them are NOT underdogs in anyway, and they both get the girl because everyone knows that they're perfect for eachother ;) ).  For some reason, I just really pity Ren.  In the beginning, he sort of comes off as an arrogant person, who only really cares for himself, and as a player...  But as the book progresses, you start to realize that he has sincere feelings for Calla, and really cares for her,  but instead of Calla falling for Ren, she falls for Shay.  When you come to this realization, you just can't help but feel bad for Ren, because you see him completely change into a different person.  But who knows, maybe my mind might change when I read Wolfsbane or maybe not... :D

Cleo :)

*Thank you soooooo much Lucia for catching my mistake about Shay!

Review: Once in a Full Moon

Title: Once in a Full Moon
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Date Released: December 28th, 2010
Pages: 292
Rating: 3 out of 5

Description:
Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend's Run is famous for them. She's used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend's Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who's from the wrong side of town. But she can't deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste's hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend's Run.

Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.

Review:
In Once in a Full Moon, main character Celeste lives in Legend's Run, where there is a legend about a werewolf that used to live there a long time ago.  The legend says that a man was trying to get back his newborn son from a pack of wolves, and in the process, while trying to fight him off, he was basically mutilated pretty badly through all the wolves' bites.  And all this happened under a full  moon, resulting in the formation of a werewolf. 

Celeste already has a boyfriend, Nash, whom I disliked from the beginning because he's pretty selfish and is a coward, but she starts falling head over heels for new comer and outcast, Brandon.  This attraction all started when she got lost in a snowstorm in the middle of a forest, and Brandon randomly came to the rescue.  From then on, her attraction to him slowly grows stronger and stronger, until she feels that she has to be with him every second of the day.

That was basically Once in a Full Moon, in a not-so-much-of-a-nutshell.  And overall, I thought this book was okay.  I enjoyed it, but it sort of lacked a uniqueness.  It captivated me, and was definitely cute and romantic, but it was also a bit cheesy at times.  I think it might have been some of the dialogue that made it cheesy.

Celeste also annoyed me as well.  She knew Nash wasn't the right guy for her, and you could clearly see it through the way he acted, so why stay with him from the beginning?  When she started falling madly in love with Brandon, that kind of got annoying, too, because it got to the point where almost everything was about how she missed him and couldn't stand to be away from him.  Celeste was a kind character, compared to her friends, but she would get quite annoying.  Brandon seemed like the only cool, calm, and collected guy in this book that I actually liked.  Unless he has long hair because I'm not really a fan of guys with long hair (I know, that's mean), and the description of him kind of sounded like he had long hair.  Maybe he wasn't exactly calm and collected because who would be if they realized that they're now a werewolf?

I don't think that I'm the biggest fan of Once in a Full Moon.  Some aspects of it were good, but others were not so great.  At this point, I'm not so sure if I'd read the sequel, because even though it does leave you with a surprise at the end, it was still only okay.

Cover Review:
Even if I didn't really like the book as much as I wanted to, I still loooooove the cover.   I think it's gorgeous, with the girl as the main focus.  The tree silhouettes are really pretty, too, and so is the font for the title, which is simple, but makes it look more modern.
Cleo :)

*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy borrowed from library.

Mini Challenge: Most Anticipated

This mini challenge is from Princess Bookie!  Who's hosting Contest Craze, and this mini challenge is a part of it!

So, in this challenge, she asked us to basically write a post about our most anticipated book.  And, as you probably know, I have A LOT!  But I can only choose one.  So, I'll have to go with...

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

This is the third, and last (insert sad smiley face here) book of the Summer series, which is awesome by the way, so you should try it.  If you've read the second book, It's Not Summer Without You, then you know that it ended on the biggest cliffhanger ever.  You can kind of tell who she's talking about, but it's pretty much ambiguous. 

Here's a description, but it may have *spoilers* if you haven't picked up the first and second books yet!

It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

Doesn't the description just make you want the book now! 

We'll Always Have Summer comes out on April 26th of this year!  So mark your calendars :D

Cleo :)

*Description from Goodreads.com

Who Wants to Win Some Books??

Beth Revis, author of the fabulous book, Across the Universe, is giving away 5 signed copies of all of the books that were part of the Breathless Books tour!  Head over to her blog NOW, to enter yourself!  Hurry up because this giveaway ends on Monday, the 21st!

Cleo :)

Review: XVI

Title: XVI
Author: Julia Karr
Date Released: January 6th, 2011
Pages: 325
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Every girl gets one.
An XVI tattoo on the wrist- sixteen.
They say they're there for protection.

Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal.  Nina is not one of them.  Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life contiunes as normal, everything will be okay.

Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true.  But there's one boy who can help- and he just may hold the key to her past.

But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure... for Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.

Review:
In XVI, Nina does not want to turn 16 at all.  She absolutely dreads it because the moment she gets the letters XVI tattooed onto her wrist, it basically means that she's not protected by men anymore, if you know what I mean.  She just wants her life to stay normal, where she doesn't have to worry about guys and the FeLS (it stands for Female Liaison Services, I believe) and where she can hang out with her best friend, Sandy.  However, her life turns upside down when her mom, Ginnie, is murdered.  On her death bed, Ginnie tells Nina a shocking secret, that leads Nina into even more potential  danger.

I really liked the whole concept of this book, probably because I'm really into dystopian now and haven't really read a book like this, but it's definitely unique and really interesting.  The only problem I had was maybe the confusing lingo.  There are so many new words like 'trannies,' 'noncons,' and 'verts' (which I still honestly am not totally sure about).  However, Karr creates a future that isn't exactly ideal, especially for girls like me (I'd probably be fearing for my life right now since I'm 15), but a possible future, with a situation that could be likely (which I guess is the whole point of dystopian novels...). 

To me, the characters seemed okay.  They were all strong and had their own unique personalities, but I just sort of felt like I couldn't really connect to them.  There was a little bit of flatness with Nina, maybe because she's such a serious character, but I really liked Wei, her new friend that she meets when she moves to Chicago after her mom's death.  What I thought was really cool about Wei was that she was half Japanese ^^ Sal was a sort of confusing character because why would you want to dress up as a hobo??  In this future, hobo's are not welcomed at all and are often beat up, so why would you want to pretend that you're one?  That was a little confusing, but overall, he seemed like a really great guy.

The plot was really captivating.  However, the ending seemed a little rushed, and I sort of wished that it could have been played out differently.  The romance between Nina and Sal also adds to the interest factor as well because you really don't know if it's going to play out that well since Nina tends to be cautious around guys. 

I honestly wasn't sure in the beginning if I was going to end up liking this book or not because I'm not that big on reading about things that happen like those in XVI.  In the end, I actually ended up really liking it.  Maybe if you're a bit uncomfortable with subjects like this, then I wouldn't really recommend it, but if you're fine, and you loooove dystopian novels, then go for it!

Cover Review:
I'm not exactly the biggest fan of this cover, but I think that it really fits the story.  It has this mysterious aura, and the palette of colors that they used really fits as well.  But, what's really cool is how the XVI is elongated across the cover, and in each letter, a part of the girl's face is shown.

Cleo :)

*Description copied from the back of the cover.  If you want to read a different one, click here.
**Review copy purchased.

Goodreads Anyone?

OH YEAH!  I finally added one of those Goodreads badges!  Now you can just click it and add me!  It's on the sidebar and it's only if you want to though.  No pressure :) I've also been thinking about making a Facebook page for Booklopedia, too. 

For those of you guys that do have a Facebook page for your blog, did you just make it using your own Facebook account (like as a group or page created by the real you)?  Or did you make a new account?

Cleo :)

Follow Friday & Updates!

This week's question:

How did you come up with your blog name?

Ooooo! I love this question!  I've been thinking about telling you guys for a while, so this is the perfect oppurtunity!  I just realized that I used exclamation marks three times in a row hahaha.

Basically, Booklopedia was actually created by Baylee :D  I honestly don't know why, but I felt like naming this blog A Thousand Paper Cranes because it just sounded pretty, and it was inspired by Shiver, written by Maggie Stiefvater, which is a really good book btw.   Anyways, I was talking to Baylee, and she was like, "What about Booklopedia?"  And I was like, "YEAHHH!!!"  Thus, the name Booklopedia was born.  I'm not totally sure if it's an orginal name though because sometimes when I Google it, other websites come up, but it's definitely unique.

On to other things...

I also wanted to give a shout out to Honey over at That's What She Read!!  She just started this blog this month (but she used to share another blog called Diary of a Book Lover, with a friend) and I just wanted to thank her soooooo much for putting us on her Blogs I Loveee post :D

I know that lately we've really been slacking on posts like reviews, but I blame it all on school!  They've been bombarding us with homework, sort of making it impossible to do anything :(  I can't wait until spring break!  Because then it's just me and you guys for a whole entire week.  I promise!  I'll probably be at Baylee's house, so maybe there will be some fun around here... :)

I also have a three-day weekend, so, tomorrow I'll try and spend my time here, working on reviews, hopefully getting at least one post up, because I have finished some good books lately (I've been going on a reading rampage for the past couple of months, hence my two Mini Review Galore posts). 

Well, that's all for now folks!

Hope you guys have an super duper awesome weekend!  I know I will!  Even if that means working at my school's gala/auction thingy.  Oh, well.

Cleo :)

Review: The Iron Queen

Title: The Iron Queen
Author: Julie Kagawa
Date Released: January 25th, 2011
Pages: 358
Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:
My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

Review:
I absolutely LOVED this book!!! I really have like no other words to describe how much I loved just about everything.  This was just like insanely good.  If you haven't read the first book, The Iron King, then you MUST go get it. 

Honestly, this series must be like one of the best series ever.  The whole idea of Iron fey and the battle between them and the "oldblood" Summer court and Winter court was like pure genius.  It was really interesting seeing the Iron kingdom develop over the course of the three books.  Kagawa totally created an awesome world that I would love to live in.  Even though there are a lot of evil creatures, the descriptions and images that created vivid scenes in my head would totally make it worth it :)

The plot was also really well done, and kept me thoroughly entertained.  There were so many shocking twists that it really made it hard to put down.  I absolutely loved the characters, too, and also how you got to see them continually grow.  Meghan grew stronger, Ash grew a little softer, and Puck probably got funnier.

The whole romance part of the book is just plain awesome as well.  I love Meghan and Ash together, and Ash just makes me want to cry because he's so sincere and loves Meghan with all of his heart :(  Isn't that sad?  And then the whole romance part keeps getting sadder and sadder until you feel like you're just going to have to cry your eyes out.  The love triangle- between Meghan, Ash and Puck- will possibly make you cry as well because you can't help but love Ash's love for Meghan, but then feel sad for Puck, because he's an incredibly funny character and really sweet, too, sometimes. 

Overall, this book is full of awesomeness.  I really recommend that you start with the first book (if you haven't yet) because I'm pretty sure that you'll fall in love with it, too.  The next book in this series is The Iron Knight, so keep your eyes open for when it comes out near the end of this year!

Cover Review:
The cover is really pretty!  I love the pink!  And the physical copy has like this gelly stuff on the little spirally designs and the title, so it makes it look glossy. 

Cleo :)

*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy purchased.

Cover Reveals!

This week, there were some more cover reveals!

I really love this cover for Crossed by Ally Condie!!!  When I look at this cover, strength and power just sort of radiates from the image in the center of the cover.  I really love the tone of blue that they used, too :)  The first book, Matched, was really good in my opinion, so I definitely can't wait until its release on November 1st, 2011!!!!!

I haven't read Stephanie Perkins first book, Anna and the French Kiss, yet, but it's definitely on the top of my TBR list!  Lola and the Boy Next Door sounds really cute, and I this cover is really cute, too :)  I love her purple hair!

These are the new covers for Nightshade and Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer!  Personally,  I liked the previous covers, but these covers are nice, too.  Although, my mom would probably wonder what I'm reading about when she sees the cover for Wolfsbane since she seems a little bit seductive (if that's the right word)...  The Nightshade one is actually pretty cool though since it shows what Calla is.

There were some pretty cool cover reveals this week!  I wonder which covers will be revealed next week :D

Cleo :)

Follow Friday!

This week's question:

Just like Ashley said (love it) "Ashley the girl..." who are You the Boy/Girl, instead of You the Blogger?

I'm Cleo the girl :)  Did I do that right? And I guess I have to talk about myself a little bit?  Well, I'm 15, and I'm still in high school.  Yep.  Nothing much going on here :D  But, I have two adorable dogs which I love a lot.  I like animals, too!  Especially dolphins!  Have you seen The Cove recently?  I had to watch it in my Chemistry class... Saddest movie of my life :(  Okay, so maybe there was a lot more going on :)

If you're new to here, go ahead and look around :D  We haven't been that active lately... Blame it on evil homework >:(

Oh!  For a LONG time, I've been wanting to tell you guys this.  I have a goodreads account.  Yeah, I've actually had it for a while, but haven't really been up to adding friends.  But now I totally am!  So, if you want to friend me, click here.  And I hope that that led you there.  If it didn't, then just tell me and I'll try and fix it again :D

Hope you guys have a super duper awesome weekend!

Cleo :)

Cover Crazy (14)

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme that was created by Tawni over at The Book Worms to show which cover(s) you are absolutely going crazy over!

This week I absolutely love the covers for Eva Ibbotson's YA books, A Song for Summer, A Company of Swans, The Morning Gift, A Countess Below Stairs, and The Reluctant Heiress!  Wow!  That's a lot of covers to love :D

Here's why:

• The models are really pretty! 
• I love how they really concentrate on the models, who look very elegant, and then they match it with really elegant/fancy fonts. 
• When I read A Song for Summer, I judged a book by its cover.  I thought it was pretty so I bought it.  I didn't enjoy it that much, but it was probably because of the language which reminded me of old English, even though it's not that old.  I think I should re-read that...
• If I had to choose a favorite cover out of the five, it'd be A Song for Summer and The Reluctant Heiress :) 

Do you guys think that these covers are pretty?  Especially the models?

Cleo :)

Mini Reviews Galore Part Two

This is Part Two of my mini reviews (because I've been sort of slacking on writing reviews for some really good books).  If you want to see Part One, click here! 

Part Two is going to consist of reviews for The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, The Anatomy of Wings by Karen Foxlee, and Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel :D 

Title: The Summoning
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Date Released: July 1st, 2008
Pages: 390
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review:
I didn't absolutely love this book, I only liked it.  It was really interesting, but I don't think it really got anywhere... and it was sort of predictable.  Although, the ending was pretty intense.  I guess it was somewhat original, with the whole "mental" house thing, even though the kids were supernaturals.  I just didn't feel satisfied in the end.  You didn't really get to learn that much about the house either, and what they were planning to do.  It leaves on a cliffhanger so I think that I might read the 2nd book since I have it right now, but I'm not so sure.  It just didn't leave me with the whole "wow" factor that most books have.  However, it was really cool how Chloe was like a necromancer (if that's how you spell it).  I always enjoy reading books about people with awesome abilities :D :D Derek was really cool, too, even though he was described as having lots of zits... Anyways, this was a pretty good book.  Maybe it was lacking some action in between??  It was pretty intriguing anyways :)

Title: The Anatomy of Wings
Author: Karen Foxlee
Date Released: February 10th, 2007
Pages: 368
Rating: 3 out of 5

Review:
I just randomly picked this book out of the shelf one day when I was at Borders.  I was looking for a third book, and it had a pretty cover and sounded intriguing, so I thought, why not?  This was actually an okay book.  The whole concept was interesting, I guess, but it was sort of hard to read at the same time.  Basically, The Anatomy of Wings is about a young Australian girl trying to understand why her 13 year-old sister died.  13.  That's pretty young to want to commit suicide.  And you should've read the things this 13 year-old was doing.  At times, I also found it confusing as to how the little random stories of Jennifer's neighbors fit into this book.  Sometimes, I also couldn't see how the items of Beth really related to her death as Jennifer told the stories.  But, I think that the way that Karen Foxlee wrote was really nice. 

Title: Infinite Days
Author: Rebecca Maizel
Date Released: August 3rd, 2010
Pages: 310
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review:
I really liked this book!  Rebecca Maizel's vampires were really cool!  And Lenah was definitely an awesome vampire.  It was also really cool how she was like the head of her own coven.  Go girl power!  All the characters were cool (I loved Tony :D ), but her relationship with Justin seemed sort of weird to me since she was obviously in love with Rhode, up until he sort of seemed to die.  And then she started developing feelings for Justin.  So then Justin started falling for her, too, so he dumped his girlfriend.  I really don't like it when characters do that, but I guess it was really sweet how they loved each other.  In a way, Lenah could be funny because she has no idea of what's going on in the 21st century since she's still stuck in the 20th (she's been asleep for 100 years).  So, when she got her car and didn't know how to drive it... Yep, that was pretty spectacular :D  I also didn't like how Rhode was killed so early into the book!  The author still tried to make is presence still be felt in the book, but he actually wasn't physically there.  Overall, this was a pretty good and captivating book :D  It totally ends on a killer cliffhanger though, so, I'm definitely getting Stolen Nights, the second book in the series!

Sooo, that wraps up all my mini reviews!  Hopefully I'm a little caught up by now ^^

Cleo :)

Contest Craze!

Cindy over at Princess Bookie does this awesome thing called Contest Craze, where basically, there are a lot, and I mean A LOT of contests to win awesome prizes like books and other book related goodies as well as mini challenges.  It's a lot of fun :)  It runs from March 9th - April 10th, so don't forget to check it out!

Don't the cupcakes in the picture look yummy??? ^.^

Cleo :)

Mini Reviews Galore Part One

Lately, I've sort of been slacking on writing reviews for these fabulous books, and my pile for writing reviews has been growing... like non stop [because apparently I can't stop reading... or buying books ;) ].  Soooooo, I'm just gonna write some mini reviews right here!  Reviews are going for the following books: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, The Anatomy of Wings by Karen Foxlee, aaaaand Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel.  Isn't that a lot of reviews to catch up on?  But, Part One contains only the first three :)

Title: Revolution
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Date Released: October 12th, 2010
Pages: 472
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review:
This book was AMAZING!  I loved every single bit of it!  The characters, Andi and Alexandrine were awesome.  Especially Andi, because throughout the book you really got to see her change.  The plot was really good, too, and there was a twist that I definitely did not see coming.  It was a little bit of a confusing twist, and honestly I thought it was sort of a weird twist that probably should have been in something like a science fiction novel, but it was a cool touch to the book at the same time.  Jennifer Donnelly is a brilliant author that really makes historical fiction truly interesting.  If you haven't read her first young adult novel A Northern Light, then you must get it!  Revolution was also written pretty beautifully as well.  You should definitely go pick this book up :)

 Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Date Released: August 31st, 2010
Pages:
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review:
I didn't think that this one was as great as all the books in The Mortal Instrument series, but it was still good nonetheless.  The plot was captivating and the characters were super cool (like Will), but I guess maybe it just didn't really live up to my expectations?  Who knows...  However, the setting was really cool :D  I really liked how it was set in Victorian London, really giving the book a sort of old vibe.  It was also definitely fun trying to imagine the characters with English accents :D  Another cool thing was getting to learn more about the Shadowhunters and their background.  Overall, it was a cool book, a fairly captivating read, and really good.  So, if you enjoyed The Mortal Instrument series, then you might like this one as well.

Title: The Dark Divine
Author: Bree Despain
Date Released: December 22nd, 2009
Pages: 372
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review:
This book was really cool.  I found the whole religion and supernatural aspect of it really interesting.  What really kept me on my toes was finding out who the killer was, of course lol :)  I bet that really intrigued everyone else too hahaha.  I don't know if the whole supernatural creature part of it is supposed to be a secret since the description doesn't seem to have anything about it, so I won't say what it is, but Bree Despain really made this creature different from the other ones out there.  So, basically it was fairly original.  The characters were cool, too, although I found Jude to be a little weird...  And it kind of annoyed me that his family couldn't really sense that he was acting different right away.  It was pretty obviousGrace's friend was especially annoying, too, because who dates their friend's brother??  That must've been so awkward for Grace!  But Daniel seemed super hot, after he cut his hair though.  Note:  I'm not the biggest fan of guys with long hair.  Oh! Another really cool thing!!!  I'm pretty sure that it said that the main character, Grace, had purple/violet eyes.  I WANT HER EYES!

Cleo :)

*All review copies have been purchased by me or received as a gift.

Beautiful Chaos Cover!

Yesterday, MTV's Hollywood Crush released the cover for the 3rd book, Beautiful Chaos, by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. Isn't this cover lovely?  It looks creepy and mysterious, and the title font is pretty crazy :)  I only have one problem with it... I'm not the biggest fan of the cover :/ It kind of reminds me of mustard or a tannish color, like the color of a lion.  I think it's supposed to be gold, so maybe when I get my hands on this, it'll look more goldish :)

Cleo :)