Winter Wonderland TAG

Legend by Marie Lu

Received for review

Paperback: 262 pages

Published: November 29th 2011

Razorbill

Legend #1

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. 

Dystopian is not my go to genre.  Having said that there have been those that I've read that I count among some of my favourte books- Divergent and Acid come to mind.

So I'm always willing to try a dystopian, and this is one I saw popping up everywhere when it was released, and so I finally decided to pick it up.

It definitely wasn't one of my favourite dystopian novels...but I didn't hate it.

Overall I found the plot of the corrupt Republic, the differences between the rich and poor sectors, and a lot of the revelations, really interesting.

I really liked how strong and kick ass both June and Day were, and how they were brought together- even if it times I had trouble believing their ages were 15.  Somehow I just didn't buy it- despite the tough circumstances of the world building.

The mystery and suspense of who actually murdered June's brother was really well done, and the revelation of who did was excellent, and I hope that there's more on it in book 2.

I did find it slow paced.  A lot of the time I didn't have the motivation to pick it up and read- not because the plot wasn't solid- but just because I found it slow going.

I liked that we got both Day and June's perspectives, and at first I didn't like June- but towards the end she redeemed herself.

I enjoyed it, and I will continue the series but I'm not in a hurry to do so.

3/5 stars.

W...W...W...Wednesdays 18/12/13

 

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions…

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

I'm currently reading Catching Snowflakes by Nora Roberts.  A re-released bind-up of two of her stories.  I fancied picking up a light, Christmas themed book- and this fit the bill.

I recently finished reading The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer.  I absolutely loved it.  A review will be going up soon, plus a live Buddy Read Discussion with Ryan from RyanReadsBooks.

 

 

I think the book I'll be starting next is Kissing Under The Mistletoe by Bella Andre.  Again, because it's going to be a light, cute, romantic- Christmas read, which sounds just about perfect.  It's #10 in the Sullivans series, the other 9 of which I have read all this year.  Love the series.

 



Teaser Tuesday 17/12/13

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm currently reading Catching Snowflakes by Nora Roberts.

Random page I turned to is 206.

1) "Though she's never considered herself highly competitive, she was swayed by his smug look."

2) "Hester tuned out the sounds and concentrated on keeping the ball in place."

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Orion (2 Feb 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1409120538
ISBN-13: 978-1409120537
"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . .

Cover: A cute and bright cover.

Well.
Rainbow Rowell has EXPLODED on both Goodreads and BookTube. She has been EVERYWHERE. And I've heard outstanding things about her other two books, Eleanor & Park and Fangirl. But I thought I would start with her first adult nove, and then move on to her two YA novels.
This was definitely an interesting, fun, light, quirky read.
The concept of someone falling in love with someone just from reading their email was definitely interesting, and the premise kind of reminded me of of one of my favourite books, Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot.
I loved the banter between Jennifer and Beth, we all have that friend that we have crazy conversations with, and their humour in their emails was so funny, I instantly loved them.
Lincoln is such a sweety. After heartbreak his first year of college, he's found himself stuck in a rut- still living at home with his mother, and in a job he hates.
But while he hates himself for reading Beth's email, he finds himself falling in love her.
“Every woman wants a man who'll fall in love with her soul as well as her body.”
It started out great, but then the pacing really slowed up, where nothing much happened.
Then towards the end it really picked up again. But it did leave me wanting MORE from it. I wanted more of the romance element. I wanted to see more of Lincoln and Beth together. I wanted all of that build up to lead to something spectacular. But it just didn't.
Over all I loved the characters, the writing style, the humour, and the premise- but there was just a few kinks that I think just fell victim to first novel syndrome, but it hasn't put me off reading her other books.
4/5 stars.

Book Haul/In My Mailbox 13/12/13

W...W...W...Wednesdays 11/12/13

To play along, just answer the following 3 questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
This week I'm currently reading The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer.  This is the Buddy Read Book for December with RyanReadsBooks.

 

The book I recently finished reading was Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier.  It took me a little while to get into, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 



 

 

I think I'm going to read a Christmas-y book next.  I'm thinking Catching Snowflakes by Nora Roberts, becuase it should be a quick, light read.  But I'm undecided.