Book Review: A Mutiny In Time (Infinity Ring #1)

Book: A Mutiny In Time (Infinity Ring #1)
Author: James Dashner
Genre: Adventure, Time Travel (Middle Grade) 
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 192 (Hardcover)
Favorite Character: I really like both of the main characters in this book, Dak and Sera. But apart from them I also really enjoy Gloria, who is not in this book very long
Release Date: August 28th, 2012 (Scholastic)

Plot: (From Goodreads)

Scholastic's next multi-platform mega-event begins here! History is broken, and three kids must travel back in time to set it right!

When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel -- a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring -- they're swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.Now it's up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak's missing parents while they're at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!



Review:
I first heard about this at BEA, which is where I got my hands on a copy, and it sounded amazing. And it definitely lived up to what I thought it was going to be. I was surprised, really, by how much i enjoyed this book. And I'm so excited to see where the rest of the story goes.

But this is an original plot and the writing was fantastic, the description of some places making me feel like I was there, and I was glad I was able to read this one a little early so I could try and spread the word about this series because I think it's going to be a fantastic one.

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

Well, WAIT NO LONGER. I should probably explain myself better then that, huh? Well, I was pining for this book, Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear, and then I started talking to the author and I ended up with a copy (signed!) at BEA. And while my crazy life hasn't allowed me to read it yet, which is why I am still waiting for it, you can read it now! It officially comes out today.

And I would totally be doing more to help promote it today, if I could. The problem is that starting at 9am, I will be in the airport and then flying to Chicago, for LeakyCon. Which is awesome, of course, I do love me some LeakyCon, but because of it I've been stressing out which means less reading and then less blogging. Also, I've just been in a huge reading slump.

Anyway, Innocent Darkness is what we're here to talk about, my friends, so let's do that.

Goodreads summary:

Wish. Love. Desire. Live.

Sixteen-year-old Noli Braddock's hoyden ways land her in an abusive reform school far from home. On mid-summer's eve she wishes to be anyplace but that dreadful school. A mysterious man from the Realm of Faerie rescues her and brings her to the Otherworld, only to reveal that she must be sacrificed, otherwise, the entire Otherworld civilization will perish.

Doesn't that sound just so very good? I can't wait! Maybe I can read it on the plane. Anyway, and here is the cover, which is completely gorgeous and drool worthy!

If you want to possibly be entered for a chance to win some prizes, there's an online release party going on here and you can RSVP for a chance to win some cooltastic prizes.

August TBR

So I did this last month, a little late, and this month I'm doing it again and I'm going to split it into 3 parts, because I want it to be all organized and stuff.

This is what I want to read this month, first we have the 'for fun' reads, the ones I just want to read because they are there:
Social and Cultural Anthropology by John Monaghan and Peter Just
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Book club(s):
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (Sword and Laser)
Master of None by Sonya Bateman (VFH)
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine (VFH)

For Review:
Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear
AngelFall by Susan Ee
Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
False Memory by Dan Krokos

And I'm really hoping to read MORE then this, even though this is quite a bit. Though, I did read 12 books last month, maybe I can keep up with myself and read about that this month. Though, I do leave for Chicago for LeakyCon in 6 days, so maybe not. But I can try!

If you have any questions about the books I'm planning to read or the book clubs I'm part of please feel free to leave a comment with it.

July Wrap-Up

And once again it's been longer then I intended in between posting, well, posts. However, it's the end of the month so it's now time to tell you what I've read this month. Warning: it was a lot, much more then I normally do. I hope I can keep it up, at least a little.

And last month I added little reviews, but since I've done WWW Wednesdays (6) (7) and if I've posted a review that will be linked, too. I've already said most of what I wanted to say and both and I'd just be repeating myself here.

All of the books from July:

God Save the Queen (The Immortal Empire #1) by Kate Locke
(review) 5/5

Grim by Anna Waggener
(review) 4/5

Desperate Duchesses (Desperate Duchesses #1) by Eloisa James 3/5
Note: No review and I don't think I'll be doing a written review unless you would like me to, when I finish the series, I'll probably end up doing a series review

The Iron Duke (Iron Seas #1) by Meljean Brook
(review) 3/5

Heart of Steel (Iron Seas #2) by Meljean Brook
(review) 4/5

Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre Trilogy #1) by Jacqueline Carey (5/5)

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love by Numbers #1) by Sarah MacLean
Note: Probably no review of this one, either, unless anyone would like me to, just leave a note in the comments (that goes fo any of these books)

Life, the Universe, and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide #3) by Douglas Adams (5/5)

Angels' Blood (Guild Hunters #1) by Nalini Singh (4/5)

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan (5/5)
I don't have a review of this up right now, but I'm hoping to post one.

An Affair Before Christmas (Desperate Duchesses #2) by Eloisa James (4/5)

Monument 14 by Emmy laybourne (2.5/5)
I'm not planning to post a review of this one, just because I don't really have anything to say.

And here we go with my August TBR, the first time I've actually consciously planned this one. I didn't quite read everything I wanted to read in July, even though I did read a lot so I'm not exactly upset about it. I've been thinking about doing themed months, but also reading other things in between. If you have a wrap-up/TBR then please link me in the comments, I'd love to see it (video and blog posts are both awesome).

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice

Book: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Romance, European Literature(British)
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 334 (Mass Market Paperback)
Favorite Character: Definitely Elizabeth, I just adored her. (I mean Darcy is obviously amazing as are most of the characters, but...)

Plot: (From Goodreads)
When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships,gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.
(This is from the Penguin classic page, which is also where the cover came from, because both things on the mass market left much to be desired).

Review:
I wasn't sure if I liked this book and at first, I didn't. It starts off pretty slow, but takes off quickly. I adored this book, as you can tell from my 5/5 rating, but I really didn't think I would. I've not read many classics, and this was my first Austen, so I just didn't know what to expect.

Jane Austen has this way of writing that, for a women of her time, I just didn't expect. She's smart and funny and it shines through the characters. Elizabeth is an amazing main character because she isn't going to marry because of duty, she wants to, if she has to, marry for love.

If you haven't read Pride and Prejudice, what are you doing with your life? And if you didn't like it, if you did read it, I'd really like to know why, because I honestly don't see how you could outright not like it.

(Also, there's a thing happening on YouTube that is P&P turned modern and as if Elizabeth was vlogging (video blogging) through the whole thing. It's called The Lizzie Bennet diaries and it's amazing so far, completely. You should check it out. First episode here).

WWW Wednesday (7)

And here we are again, for one of my favorite memes. I don't just love doing my own, I love reading others (so if you do one, leave me a comment with the link). Also, those that aren't labeled with YA or MG are, obviously, not Young Adult or Middle-Grade. This is hosted by MizB at Should be Reading and she asks that you answer 3 questions:

• what are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Currently-Reading:

AngelFall by Susan Ee(about 35%) and Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop (25%, about, no real idea) and I'm really enjoying both of them. I just started AngelFall and I'm really loving it, and for some reason it's taking me forever to get through Daughter of the Blood, no idea why.

Read:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Love By Numbers #1) by Sarah MacLean (4/5)

Very cute and it's very well written, for it's genre. I think that my opinion of these kind of novels is so low, that they all surprise me a bit. It might be because of the awesome covers, but this one was enjoyable.

Angel's Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh (4/5)

This one was different. I haven't read a lot of angel books, although I do own quite a few so I guess I mean to, but I really enjoyed this one. 

Life, the Universe, and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #3) by Douglas Adams (5/5)

So very, very good. I am loving this series so far. It's hilarious and engaging and one of my favorite series.

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan (5/5)

This book was amazing. It's set up like a dictionary with a new word on each phrase and then a drabble of sorts based on the word, and some of them were adorable or heartbreaking or cute. This whole book was so well written, and I can't wait to read his next book.

An Affair Before Christmas (Desperate Duchesses #2) by Eloisa James (3/5)

This one was really cute and well written, as I'm slowly coming to expect from this author. But something just didn't feel right about how it happened, which is why the rating isn't higher. I'm really enjoying this series so far, though.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne (2.5/5)

Something about this book just annoyed me, though out the whole thing. I think the main reason, without any spoilers, is that I felt like it didn't cover a long enough period, that everything happened to quickly. Besides that there we other parts that annoyed me, like that we didn't get a more specific date or an even partial history of how the world reached where it was. This just was not my kind of book, apparently.

Might Read Next:

I just picked up a middle-grade series I'm really looking forward to. The first book is called The Name of this Book is a Secret and it sounds really adorable, as do the rest of the books.

Also, normally I have the pictures in 'medium' but this time they are 'small' because it looked like I had so little say about all of the books, even though that wasn't quite to case, and there are just quite a few of them.

Book Review: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Book: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1)
Author: Douglas Adams
Genre: Humor, Adventure, SciFi/Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 216 (Paperback - 2005)
Favorite Character: Ford. I just... I mean, I adore all four of them, but he just makes the least sense out of all of them, so it seemed like the best choice. Ooh. Or Marvin, I adore Marvin.

Plot: (From Goodreads)

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.


Review:
I refuse to think that this is a book that you can review in a normal way because it's just too different to do that. You can't say 'well the pacing was good', because there wasn't really any pacing. This is a book that you just have to shrug and go along for the ride to enjoy it, if you're trying to figure out whats happening, you'll probably not enjoy it at all and get a headache.

The Hitchhiker's Guide started with us on earth with Arthur Dent, who at first I was unsure of and then realized he was the best main character, and the earth is about to be destroyed. And, of course, adventure and hijinks ensue. This book is hilarious and engaging and the characters, the four main ones and the others we meet, are all amazing.

If you're looking for a fun, nonsense (in the best way) read then this is definitely one to check out.