Grim Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Grim

EDITOR: Christine Johnson

PUBLISHER: Harlequin Teen

PUBLICATION DATE: 2/25/2014

PAGES: 476

MY RATING:

BACK COVER SUMMARY: Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sisnister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I was really disappointed by this book. There are some big name authors in here, a lot of whom I haven't read yet, but I feel like I was let down. There were a few stories that I could tell for sure what fairy tales they had come from, but for most of them I had no idea. I'm not sure if that's because they were way different from their originals or if there are a ton of fairy tales out there that I'm unaware of. I was expecting a lot more horror and terrifying aspects in this book. Some of the stories were great when it came to scaring me, but most of them were dull and not dark at all. Some of my favorites were The Twelfth Girl by Malinda Lo, The Brother's Piggett by Julie Kagawa and Unteathered  by Sonia Gensler. 

COVER: This is such a beautiful book. I love the colors, the texture and the built in bookmark.

**I received a finished copy of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

Take Me On Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Take Me On

AUTHOR: Katie McGarry

PUBLISHER: Harlequin Teen

PUBLICATION DATE: 5/27/2014

PAGES: 544

MY RATING:

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Champion kickboxer Haley swore she'd never set foot in the ring again after one tragic night. But then the guy she can't stop thinking about accepts a mixed martial arts fight in her honor. Suddenly, Haley has to train West Young. All attitude, West is everything Haley promised herself she'd stay away from. Yet he won't last five seconds in the ring without her help.

West is keeping a big secret from Haley. About who he really is. But helping her--fighting for her--is a shot at redemption. Especially since it's his fault his family is falling apart. He can't change the past, but maybe he can change Haley's future.

Haley and West have agreed to keep their relationship strictly in the ring. But as an unexpected bond forms between them and attraction mocks their best intentions, they'll face their darkest fears and discover love is worth fighting for.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Another instant hit from Katie. I don't think this woman could write a bad book if she tried. I will read anything by her. I was in love with this book before I was even halfway through it. Katie's writing just pulls you in and makes you keep flipping the pages. I will admit that I didn't like this one as much as her other books, but it was still extremely good. 

CHARACTERS: I think my reason for not liking this book as much as the others is because of the main characters, Haley and West. For some reason, I just didn't connect with them as well as I would have liked to. It might have been because the story line revolved around boxing, and I have zero interest in that, but I did really love the relationship that West and Haley shared. 

COVER: I'm not a fan of any of the covers for the Pushing The Limits books, but I do like that there is something printed directly onto the book underneath the dust jacket.

**I received a finished copy of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

Panic Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Panic

AUTHOR: Lauren Oliver

PUBLISHER: Harper Collins

PUBLICATION DATE: 3/4/2014

PAGES: 416

MY RATING: 

BACK COVER SUMMARY: Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of her first love for each of them--and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I liked the sweet note from Lauren at the beginning of the book. I'm not sure if this is in all copies since I read from an ARC, but it was nice of her to include it.

There has been a lot of hype over this book, but I just don't get it. The book was fine, but it wasn't near one of my favorites. I'm not sure what everyone was raving about. That being said, I did like the concept and I enjoyed reading it.

CHARACTERS: There were a lot of names being thrown around right from the start, so I was having some trouble figuring out who everyone was and keeping everyone straight. It got a little easier, but I did still have some difficulty throughout the book. I had some trouble connecting with the characters. I wanted to care more about them, but I just couldn't. I was more interested in the Panic games themselves than the relationships between the characters. 

COVER: I like the cover. I like the simplicity of it. I'm a fan of dark covers with a pop of something on them and this has that.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

June Reading Update

In June, all of the books I read counted towards my 2014 "Real" Book Challenge. I managed to read 4 books in June bringing my total books read for the challenge to 42 books, and 43 books for my total year to date.

Bookish Mad Libs #3 - Peter Pan

I participate in a website called "Swap-Bot". Basically, you can sign up to swap things with other people - letters, stickers, handmade items, anything you can think of, you can swap. There are also groups on swap-bot that you can join with themes. These groups have officers in them who host swaps based on the theme of the group. 

One of the groups I am in, is called Carpe Librum and is all about books and bookish things. A swapper by the name of smadronia (one of the founder of Carpe Librum) came up with the idea to host a swap for a book themed mad-libs. I love the idea and I wanted to create a book-related mad libs meme. So if you want to play along, feel free to pick out your words and then make a post on your blog, or in the comments if you prefer, with what you came up with.

This week's theme is Cinderella.
Here is the list of words.

1. A Place

2. Verb

3. Noun

4. Verb

5. Person in Room (Female)

6. Verb ending in "ING"

7. Part of Body

8. Noun

9. Verb

10. Adverb

11. Noun

12. Noun

13. Silly Word

14. Noun

15. Adjective

16. Adverb

17. Part of Body

18. Verb

Here is the Mad-lib. Replace each number with your word for that number:

Peter Pan by J M Barrie

PEter Pan flew into (the) _____1_____ to find his shadow. When he found it, Peter tried to _____2_____ it back on with a bar of _____3_____! When that didn't work, he began to _____4_____, waking up _____5_____.

"Boy," she said, "Why are you _____6_____?"

Peter stood up and bowed at the _____7_____. "Hello, I'm Peter Pan. I can't get my _____8_____to stick on," he said.

"You can't _____9_____ it on with soap," Wendy said _____10_____. "You need to sew it on with needle and _____11_____. Here, let me."

Quick as a/an _____12_____, she sewed the shadow back on.

Peter let out a loud "_____13_____!" and danced around the room, happy as a/an _____14_____. "Oh, I am _____15_____!" he crowed.

"Peter, may I give you a kiss?" Wendy asked him, smiling _____16_____.

Peter held out his _____17_____, waiting for her to hand it to him.

"Surely you know what a/an _____18_____ is?" she said.

"I shall know once you give it to me," Peter replied.

Here's what I came up with:

Peter Pan by J M Barrie

PEter Pan flew into (the) HOME to find his shadow. When he found it, Peter tried to RUN it back on with a bar of SHOE! When that didn't work, he began to PRANCE, waking up ZOEY.

"Boy," she said, "Why are you GALLOPING?"

Peter stood up and bowed at the PINKY. "Hello, I'm Peter Pan. I can't get my FORESTto stick on," he said.

"You can't SWIM it on with soap," Wendy said SURPRISINGLY. "You need to sew it on with needle and LAMPSHADE. Here, let me."

Quick as a/an PIANO, she sewed the shadow back on.

Peter let out a loud "POOF!" and danced around the room, happy as a/an TELEPHONE. "Oh, I am GLITTERY!" he crowed.

"Peter, may I give you a kiss?" Wendy asked him, smiling TENDERLY.

Peter held out his WRIST, waiting for her to hand it to him.

"Surely you know what a/an TUMBLE is?" she said.

"I shall know once you give it to me," Peter replied.