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 :)

Revel In The Amazement of These Covers!

Three AMAZING covers that have been spotted around the blogosphere recently are for... Supernaturally by Kristen White, Vanish by Sophie Jordan and Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz!!!

Aren't they all beautiful and gorgeous?? 

I've read Paranormalcy, and LOVED it.  The cover is absolutely lovely with the brown background theme... It actually kind of reminds be of autumn, but it's a very pretty cover :)

I actually haven't read Sophie Jordan's first book, Firelight, yet, but I really want to since I've heard so many good things about it, and the cover for that is pretty as well!  I really like the silverish/purple theme that they went for. 

I also love Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Blood series, so I really can't wait for the arrival of Lost in Time in October of this year!  This cover still has that recurring theme like the other first five covers.  And it has that little city silhouette at the bottom!   And it's Egypt!!!  I actually find it a little bit plain, probably because the famous buildings in Egypt are the Sphinx, the Pyramids, etc... But it's still nice :D

Any comments?  Do you like them?  Not like them?  But the most important question of all is: Can you wait until they're released?????

Cleo :)

Review: Across the Universe

Title: Across the Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Date Released: January 11th, 2011
Pages: 398
Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Review:
I have four words for you: This was amazingly awesome!  When I first heard about, I knew I had to get it and I was so glad that I did :D 

So, I really, really, realllllly, loved the whole idea of the book.  A spaceship +  an almost murder + secrets + lies???  Yes please!  Across the Universe was a fairly fast paced novel, that really kept me fascinated and intrigued.  The whole plot was obvioulsy really well thought out, since it was full of twists and turns.  However, I thought that some of it might have been a tad bit predictable, but Beth Revis really keeps you thinking about who could possibly be the murderer.

Amy and Elder were super duper awesome main characters.  They make a really cute couple too :)  Elder was really sweet and he tried his best to make Amy comfortable in this new surrounding.  It was really cute and made me feel all mushy inside because I think that all boys should learn from Elder :D Who agrees with me?

The whole world ship that Beth Revis created was fascinating and very imaginative.  It was large and seemed fairly complex, but it was basic, with three levels.  It fit a whole field for growing food and poultry, and probably around 3000 people!  Maybe even more!  The illustration in the back of the cover (the hardcover copy) really helped get a visual image in your head of the layout. 

Overall, this is definitely by far one of the coolest books I've read this year!  The intensity and secrets made this a real page turner.  Beth Revis wrote a really great debut, and if there's a sequel- and I really hope that there is- then I'm sooo buying it! 

Cover Review:
I really love this cover!  I love the use of the universe for a majority of the cover, as well as the two faces that are so close to touching each other.  However, when I first saw this cover a couple months ago, I thought the two faces were two blobs because I think that they shaded them in a little too dark so you can't really see their features , but other than that, this is a super duper awesome cover!

Cleo :)

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

Follow Friday

Question of the week:

Share your current fav television show! Tell us a bit about it...

Best question ever!!  I think that I might actually go on, and on, and on about this... so if you just want my favorite shows (yes, I have a lot of current favorite TV shows) then here goes my list... and I'll explain why along with it:

1. Supernatural:  OMG!  Have you seen Dean Winchester???  He's to die for... And the show is pretty good, too, especially if you like scary stuff because almost every single episode deals with some sort of creature that goes bump in the night.  Although, for a while it got a little boring because they were dealing with Sam Winchester, Dean's brother, and they were trying to cure him... But I still watched it anyways :)
2. Pretty Little Liars:  It's a little cheesy sometimes, but I like the drama and finding out what 'A' sent them this time.  I also just really want to know who 'A' is....
3. Glee:  Who doesn't watch this show??  Maybe a lot of people, but I really like the music and all the high school drama that goes on in the show.
4. The Vampire Diaries:  It just keeps getting better and better with each episode!
5. Bones:  I love watching Bones!  What I love about it is the beginning where they find the dead body, even though it might be gruesome, I actually find it interesting.  When they solve the case is also always the best thing about this show, too.  You have got to love Dr. Brennan as well and how she takes things so seriously and never really understands jokes and stuff like that :)

Yep, I watch all of these shows every week, although The Vampire Diaries and Bones are on the same day, I watch Bones every Friday since it's on Hulu the next day. 

I'm sorry that there hasn't been any posting at all this week, except for one review.  I even skipped the Cover Crazy post this week!  And I love doing Cover Crazy since I'm, well... Crazy about covers!  I pinky promise with a cherry on top that I'll do at least one post this weekend but there's been a lot of homework and I have a project due next week.  But I'll try my hardest to sneak in some time!

Hope you guys have a grrrreat weekend!!!!!!

Cleo :)

Review: Logic of Demons - The Quest for Nadine's Soul

Title: Logic of Demons - The Quest for Nadine's Soul
Author: H.A. Goodman
Date Released: July 13, 2010
Pages: 262
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Description: What would you do if the love of your life was murdered by a deranged killer? Would you become a vigilante and seek retribution? And would this revenge affect those you care for in the afterlife? LOGIC OF DEMONS The Quest for Nadine's Soul takes you on a journey inside the psyches of men and women forced to deal with the spiritual consequences of their decisions. Through the lives of a demon, two Angels, and a mysterious teenage girl, a plethora of politically and socially relevant issues ranging from the roots of genocide and sex trafficking to child conscription and religious fundamentalism are addressed in this fantasy thriller. Life as well as the afterlife converge in this novel to explain certain peculiarities of the human condition. Whether you are God fearing individual or an atheist, LOGIC OF DEMONS The Quest for Nadine's Soul addresses moral and theological issues of interest for people of all backgrounds.

Review:
Mr. Goodman requested me to read this book a while ago but I didn't have the time so I apologize for the delay. But once I picked up this book it captured my attention instantly. Goodman addresses controversial topics of good and evil along with religion in this book, and it sucks you in. It really makes you think what your perspective is on the world: what's right and what's wrong, what YOU should believe in. It proves to you how maybe good and evil isn't always in black and white, and how the right thing to do isn't always clear, but you find a way. The complicating settings and concepts make your mind turn, and I loved that. Devin's adventure in the afterlife is thrilling and shows you the darkness in our world, while at the same time showing what hope there also is out there. I gave the book a 4.5 because I think if it had more substance it could've been all the much better, plus the wording in places was a little funky, but that may just be me. The concept is amazing, the story enthralling, and it really is inspiring. Definitely check it out.

Cover Review: The cover is of Devin with a pained expression and flames in the background. I think the model on the cover is a good impression of Devin's character, but i think theres a lot more concepts of artwork that also could be put into the cover. However i do like it :)

keep reading folks!
Marmar<3

Follow Friday (23)

This week's awesome question:

If you are a fan of Science Fiction what is your favorite book? If you haven't read Science Fiction before...any inkling to? Anything catch your eye?

Yes!  Actually, sort of... It depends.  Like if it's out of space weird, then nooo...  But if it's fun, like (correct me if I'm wrong about any of these books) The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins or the Pendragon series by DJ McHale (which I think might be middle grade... but it was awesome anyways).  The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld was pretty awesome, too!  I'm also reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver right now, and it's quickly becoming one of my favorites.  Another one of my favorites is Across the Universe by Beth Revis.  Those are all relatively new... And I'm sure that I have other science fiction favorites :)

Now I'm off to go get ready to watch Vampire Diaries!!!!!

Cleo :)

Cover Crazy (13)

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'm absolutely in love with the cover for Possession by Elana Johnson!

Here's why I love it:

• I really love the simplicity.  The one object in the middle of the cover really catches your eye.
• It's really cool how the butterfly in the ice cube (or at least I think it's an ice cube...) on the cover is really symbolic of the story, even though I haven't read it yet. (Read the description to see why)  You actually don't even have to read the description.  Just look at the title, it explains it all.
• I really like the color palate that the cover artist chose.  The green and the blue are really pretty colors and really pop out against the white background.

I totally can't wait until June for Possession's release... It sounds (and looks!) like a really good book!

Do you guys like this cover?  What cover are you going crazy over this week?

Cleo :)

Review: The Ivy

Title: The Ivy
Author: Lauren Kunze & Rina Onur (Collaborator)
Date Released: August 31st, 2010
Pages: 310
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Congratulations! You have been admitted to the most prestigious university in the world. Now what are you going to do?

Callie Andrews may not have money or connections or the right clothes, and she may have way too many complications in her love life, what with

Gregory
the guy she loves to hate ...

Evan
the guy she'd love to forget ...

Clint
the guy she'd love to love ...

and Matt
the guy she really should love ...

all vying for her attention.

But she has three fantastic roommates (best friends or her worst nightmare?) and a wholesome California-girl reputation (oops) and brains and beauty and big, big dreams.


Will it be enough to help her survive freshman year at Harvard?

Review:
Callie Andrews has arrived at Harvard from California *applause*.  She has three roommates, all with different personalities, and a whole bunch of guys that she's met (and crushing on).  But then there's also her *ahem* ex-boyfriend.  Now she just has to survive college while juggling school work, roommates, and four different guys.  It's no big deal, right?

The Ivy was so addicting!  While I was reading this, I was supposed to be studying for finals... But I couldn't help myself :)  What really kept my eyes glued to this book was all the backstabbing and secrets.  All of the drama really made The Ivy super captivating. 

I thought it was super cool how there was such a difference in personality between all four roommates.  Callie was a little more calmer, and not really like the stereotypical blonde from California (hint hint: Elle Woods from "Legally Blonde").  Callie's other roommates, Mimi, Vanessa, and Dana were total opposites.  Mimi was the rich international student from France who was pretty crazy and wild.  Vanessa was the rich New York socialite, who wasn't as crazy and wild, but was more concerned with being popular and gaining admittance into the clubs of Harvard.  On the other hand, Dana is the total opposite of Vanessa and Mimi.  She's the type of girl who would be caught studying all the time and was raised pretty religious, so she could care less about what her roommates really care about (social-wise). 

Don't even get me started on the guys in this book.  All of them were pretty cool, but some of them could be total jerks.  Like Gregory.  All of the guys, like the girls, had different personalities, too.  Gregory was the rich kid who could be a jerk at times, and Matt was the totally sweet one that anyone would want to be their boyfriend.  Clint was an upperclassman, so he should be totally off limits, and he was sweet, too, but not as understanding.  And there's Evan.  He's not really in the book as much, but he came off as a jerk even though he sounded pretty nice.  Obviously, all the characters in The Ivy were diverse.  They're not hard to forget either.  The characters also weren't confusing because they were all so different.

Overall, The Ivy is a pretty good book.  Although, I will warn you to not get your hopes up if you think it's all about Harvard (that's what I originally thought).  It's more about the social aspect of going there (if any of it is true... Apparently the authors won't say how much of it is true?? :/ ).  There is some drinking, getting drunk, partying, and more stuff like that.  So, if you're not really into books like that, then I wouldn't really suggest it, but this was a page turner for me because of all the secrets and backstabbing and not to mention, the question of who Callie would end up with by the end of the book :) 

This left on a pretty huge cliffhanger so I'll definitely be looking forward to the sequel, Secrets! 

Cover Review:
I love the cover!  I don't know how to explain it, but the design in the background kind of has this old feel to it.  Not old like in a bad way, but it reminds me of old and prestigious colleges, like Harvard!  The red is very eye-catching and so is the title. 

A Question:
One thing that I really want to know about this book: Does all of this stuff really go on in Harvard? I just watched "The Social Network" and it kind of seems to be that way. There was one scene in the movie and I think it was at one of those club party's, and the guys and girls were drinking and stuff and it just totally reminded me of The Ivy. My dad really wants me to go to Harvard (I think in a way it's sort of weird since it's such a prestigious college... And I see why. But still.), so now I'm pretty sure that my mom's second guessing the choice (she watched the movie with me).

Cleo :)

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

Review: Solid

Title: Solid
Author: Shelley Workinger
Date Released: July 9th, 2010
Pages: 222
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Eighteen years ago, a rogue Army doctor secretly experimented with a chromosomal drug on unknowing pregnant women. When he was killed not long after the children were born, any knowledge and evidence seemed to die with him - except for the living, breathing, human products of his work.

Almost two decades later, the newly self-proclaimed "open-book" military unearths the truth about the experiment, bringing Clio Kaid and the other affected teens to a state-of-the-art, isolated campus where they soon discover that C9x did indeed alter their chromosomes, its mutations presenting as super-human abilities. The military kids, who come from across the nation and all walks of life, come into their own as lighter-than-air 'athletes'; 'indies' as solid as stone walls; teens who can make themselves invisible and others who can blind with their brilliance.

While exploring her own special ability, forging new friendships and embarking on first love, Clio also stumbles onto information indicating that the military may not have been entirely forthcoming with them and that all may not be as it seems...

Review:
This book was really cool!  It was about an 18 year-old girl named Calliope Kaid (but prefers to go by Clio instead) who discovers that she was genetically altered unknowingly when still in her mother's womb by an Army doctor.  She later finds out, when at a camp/army base with other kids just like her, that the chromosomes that were altered gave her superpowers.  How cool is that?? 

The book starts off just a little slow, but I was fine with it because it wasn't moving at a snail's pace.  Not a whole lot happens, but the beginning is mainly like an introduction to life at this super awesome campus that Clio is staying at.  However, slowly, Clio and her friends, Jack, Bliss, Miranda, and Garrett, start to become a little suspicious of the things going on.  All these suspicions finally lead up to the totally shocking ending.  It really sped up the book and got me hooked and wanting to find out where everything was heading to. 

Other than that, this was a GREAT book.  I liked everything else about it from the characters to the plot.  The characters were super duper awesome!  They all had a variety of personalities like Bliss and Miranda.  They're nothing alike!  Miranda seemed to fit the popular girl stereotype with her blonde hair and good looks.  Bliss was friendly and really down to earth.  The main character, Clio was definitely cool as well.  I really loved how she has a really great and solid relationship with her mom.  The guys, Jack and Garrett were pretty cool as well. 

Solid is a really quick read, too, that only took me several days to read*.  The whole idea of genetically-altered-at-birth superhumans is totally awesome!  I always love a good book with people who have superpowers because I always wish that I could be just like them (the superpower that I'd love to have is to be able to fly).

I'll definitely be looking forward to Settling, the second book in this series, to learn more about Clio and her friends.  The third book is called Sound.  I can't wait until they come out!  Solid was a really great start to this series and I can't wait to see what will happen next! 

*Keep in mind that I'm not the fastest reader in the world :)

Cover Review:
The cover is really cool!  It's not exactly the typical cover that I normally like, but I really like how there's a chromosome on it, since the story basically revolves around it.

Cleo :)

*Description from Amazon.com
**Review copy received from author for review.  Thank you Shelley Workinger!

Random Bits & Pieces

Guess what I'm reading next???  THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong!  Woo hoo!!  I've started it and have gotten half way through... It's pretty addicting so far :)  It was actually a tie between XVI, The Summoning, and Harry Potter...  But then some of you guys put a few of the books as your votes so they were kind of like a tie breaker :) 

Thanks a lot if you voted!!! You guys really chose a great book :D

I know I've probably said this a lot... But I'm really trying to write reviews!  I think the problem for the lack of reviews is 1) school (of course hahaha) and 2) I've been reading sooooooo many books lately, that I have a million of reviews to do at once :/  I think that after I finish my reading pile, I'm going to stop reading for a while and just finish up all the reviews that I need to be working on. 

In the meantime, enjoy some awesome music from Snow Patrol.



Weren't they awesome?  Wasn't the music video totally awesome even though they probably broke like a hundred traffic laws?  Hahaha.  I love Gary Lightbody's voice...

Anyways... Have a great and awesome week!!!  And I pinky promise at least one review this week.  If not you can get your pitchfork's out hahaha :D

Cleo :)

Cover Crazy (12)

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'm going crazy over the cover for Across the Universe by Beth Revis!

Here's why I like it:

• I really how they used the galaxy for the background, as well as the different colors. 
• I think it's great how they didn't just use black with little stars in the background because that's what you would usually associate with space.  Instead, the cover artist went with like a sunset color theme which really highlights the two faces in the cover. 
• The thing that really captures my eye are the two faces, although I wished that they could've made it a little lighter because when I first saw this cover I thought they were two blobs :|

Do you guys like this cover?  Which cover are you going crazy over this week??

Cleo :)

Don't Forget...

To vote for what I should read next!  I've got 5 so far, but I think I'm going to need just a little more :)  Just click here and it should take you to the post.  All you have to do is comment!

Cleo :)

Follow Friday (22)

This week's question:

What is the book you are currently 'pushing'? (Pushing mean trying to get people to read it)

Um, I don't really know.  I don't really "push" my friends into reading a book.  Actually, I've told Baylee to some books like The Iron King and Gone a couple times because those are among some of the books that I absolutely love.  But that's really it :)

Sorry for totally being a slacker on posts and reviews :(  This week I got a lot of homework and stuff and couldn't really find the time to squeeze in some reviews :/ I apologize!  But I'll totally try my hardest to get some posts in this weekend!

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Cleo :)