Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Author Info: Website | GoodReads
Published: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 396
Age Group: Young Adult
Format I Own: Hardcover
Purchase: Amazon

Every now and then I get in the mood for something humorous and quirky, and that's how I was feeling when I picked up this book. It had been on my wishlist for a little while and sounded like it was going to be really funny. And it definitely was.

This book is full of wacky, fast-paced fun action. There was not a dull moment in this book, it goes straight from one crazy hilarious event after another, and they just got better and better as the book went on. I felt that the majority of the characters all had their own personalities that made them totally unique from each other, but there were a few that fell flat and were generally unmemorable, and thus also didn't play too big of a role in the story.

Much like Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, I felt like this book was quite heavy on the language for being YA, and also a little heavy on sexual references as well. It doesn't bother me at all, just surprises me.

Now I know a lot are saying this book reminded them of Miss Congeniality or Lord of the Flies, and I do agree with that, but the main thing this book reminds me of is a little known independent film I watched ages ago titled Death to the Supermodels. The plots aren't entirely the same, but there are many similarities.

If you're looking for a book that will keep you laughing with it's random, kooky adventures, of beauty queens surviving on an island, or you are a fan of Libba Bray's sense of humor, I recommend this.

Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Series: Graceling Realm #1
Author Info: Wikipedia
Published: Octorber 1, 2008
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 472
Age Group: Young Adult
Format I Own: Kindle e-book
Purchase: Amazon

I hate that I'm giving this book a rather negative review, especially because I had really high hopes for it. But this book really didn't meet any of my expectations. I do hope that when you read this review, you understand that is this soley MY opinion on this book, if you don't agree with it I respect that, but please also respect my opinions.

To be completely honest, I mainly read this book because I liked the premise of the second book in this series titled Fire. I didn't want to jump into the second book without reading the first, cause I might have missed out on some key points or just been totally confused. After reading this, I have much less of an interest to read the second in the series because I found this book to be rather dull.

This book started out with action. So at first I was excited, my expectations went up even higher, and I was really expecting to be completely sucked into the book. Once that initial action was over, it got extremely dull from there, and I slowly found myself losing interest, and even finding it hard to keep myself reading. At one point I even considered putting it down and marking it as unfinished, but I don't like doing that so I forced myself to continue on. It wasn't until the second half that the pace started picking up a bit, and more excitement was thrown in, but not enough to get me really interested.

The characters were not interesting at all to me. Yes I did enjoy having a kickass female lead, but that's pretty much the only thing I liked about Katsa. I thought Po was completely flat and boring. None of the characters in this book stood out to me.

I really don't know what else to say about this, I'm finding it difficult to describe my feelings for this book. But you get the general idea. I didn't like it, and was left rather disappointed.

Friday Finds 4/20

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! 
Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

 After rebounding from a broken engagement and relinquishing her job in sports PR, the irrepressible Waverly Bryson has a new man, a new career, and a new lease on life. Her part-time gig as an advice columnist has proven to be as entertaining as it is affirming, and her fledgling greeting card line, Honey Notes, is off to a promising start. After a series of disastrous romantic rebounds, she has settled into a long-distance relationship with handsome Jake McIntyre. Things are certainly looking up?at least, until lingering emotional baggage threatens her love life and her best friends stun her with a pair of shocking announcements. Suddenly, Waverly is faced with being left behind by everyone she loves. And in true Waverly fashion, things must get comically worse before they can get better. It takes forming an unexpected new friendship with an elderly neighbor and meddling in the love lives of two of her coworkers to make ?the American Bridget Jones? realize that although life ? before and after thirty ? never fails to be messy and unpredictable, friendship and love make it all worthwhile.

Have you read this book? Let me know your thoughts, or show me your review!

Waiting On Wednesday: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine that highlights upcoming releases that we can't wait to read.



I know a lot of you have probably seen this book mentioned hundreds of times already but I couldn't resist!

 From Goodreads

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.  

What books are you eagerly anticipating the release of? Let me know!  

Friday Finds 4/13

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! 
Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.




I only added one new book to my wishlist this week!

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Iraq. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain...magnetism.

And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's a prince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

 Have you read this book? Let me know your thoughts, or show me your review!

Review: Fated by Alyson Noel

Recieved ARE from GoodReads
Series: Soul Seekers #1
Author Info: Website
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 368
Age Group: Young Adult
Format I Own: Paperback
Pre-order: Amazon

First I'll mention that I really love this cover. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but I will admit that was what originally drew me to this book. The next thing that drew me to the book was reading the premise, where it states the main character Daire, is being haunted by disturbing visions. Woohoo! I can never turn down a book with insane characters in it.

And that's pretty much how the book starts out, with a little bit of insanity, and it was a perfect way to get me instantly sucked into this book. However I'd say the beginning was probably the best of the book in my opinion, but I'm very confident the majority of readers will not feel the same way. Don't get me wrong though, I still found the entire book to be quite enjoyable.

I liked that this book incorporated hispanic origins and cultures into it, that was a unique change of pace which I think is almost necessary in a good paranormal romance, considering just how many YA books are popular in this genre these days.

I did find Daire to be a little annoying and childish at times, but on the other hand when I think about it, if I was in her situation I probably would have reacted in a similar manner. Also, I felt like it took forever to get to the point of just what the plot was supposed to be. I found myself asking 'what's really going on?' for quite a large part of reading this.

The ending didn't leave me with that feeling of NEEDING the next book right now because I have to find out what happens, even though there was one specific thing mentioned towards the end that had me asking questions, and wanting to figure out what it means. Because of that and my overall liking of this book, I do plan on reading the next one in the series once it comes out.

Friday Finds 4/6

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS! 
Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.




I actually feel like I found quite a lot of books to add to my wishlist this week, so instead of listing them all individually, I'm going to group them all together and you can click on the books to take you to a page where you can read more about them!

These book covers are REALLY difficult to rearrange side by side. I must be doing something wrong but this is the best I could get them. :P