Miniviews # 10: Burn for Burn & We Were Liars

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
Publication Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 358
Series: Burn for Burn
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5

This book is all about the revenge with the stereotypical high school drama thrown in. I'm not a big one for revenge books but Burn for Burn is pretty engrossing and fast paced that it kept me flipping the pages. I pretty much read it in one sitting. We're given three different POV's; Lillia, the popular princess type, Kat, the outcast but I don't give a shit type and Mary, the shy new girl. Obviously all very different girls who's social standing wouldn't normally see them interacting. But a few chance encounters bring them together. All three are angry and out to spread their wraith on these unsuspecting school mates.
Each girl has a very different and distinct voice.  I may not have been a massive fan of Lillia but it didn't stop me from speeding through her chapters just as fast as the Kat and Mary's. Each girl has a person their revenge plan is targeted at and you really do hate that person for what they've done to whichever girl. But as the story goes on and there's more interactions between the different girls with their target you start to doubt their reasoning for getting revenge. Or maybe it was just me and being easily swayed based on actions. Hell I changed my mind constantly on whether the revenge was warranted or not.
I think fans of Mean Girls will find this right up their alley. With the added bonus of a hint of magical realism that I'm hoping will make more of an appearance in the sequel.

We Were Liars by E.Lockhart

Publication Date: May 13th, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 227

Source: Purchased

Rating: 4/5

The hype surrounding this book was unreal. All the bloggers and authors that read it early made it seem like they were part of this secret society. They knew the ending and reading this book was going to blow readers minds and well of course I needed to have my mind blown open. Although I don't think We Were Liars is the best book I've ever read, but I was pretty shocked when the truth and ending was revealed.
Our narrator is Cady. Oldest Sinclair grandchild and heiress to the the Sinclair fortune. Cady is trying to piece together a mystery from two summers ago. A mystery involving her. All she remembers is being found washed up on the shore of her families island estate in her underwear. Now Cady's having flashbacks to previous summers spent on her families private island with her family and more importantly her two cousins, Johnny and Mirren and their friend Gat. The Liars. The Liars were inseparable. Their friendship and love is endearing. As their family starts to fall apart around them, they begin to grow and form their own opinions on what is right. The Sinclair family is all about appearance and some of the family mottos include pretending everything is alright. Well for all of this book, nothing is alright.
Because of Cady's head injury she is a very unreliable narrator. You never know when to trust her. But that's what makes this story so raw and touching. Cady's life has fallen so far down that when she suddenly has a memory of her and the rest of The Liars you get a small thought that everything might be okay.
Lockhart's writing is bloody fantastic. It's full of beauty and prose. It's deep and gives you all the feels. I am now collecting all her previous books. I needs them all!

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top 5 Wednesday: First Sentences

Top 5 Wednesday is a meme started by Lainey at Ginger Reads Lainey. Find the list of all the #T5WFamily here.

This weeks topic is:

Top 5 First Sentences!


5. Blood Red Road

"Lugh got born first."

4. Clockwork Angel

"The demon exploded in a shower of inchor and guts."

3. Trust in Me

"Jase Winstead was a cruel motherfucker."

2. The Scorpio Races

"It's the first day of November and so, today, someone will die."

1. How Zoe Made Her Dreams(Mostly) Come True

"There was no getting around the fact that Tinker Bell was a little bitch."

This was hard. I don't really keep track of opening sentences I love. So I guess I've come to the realization that I probably should.
What are some of yours? Did the engage you quickly? Make you laugh? Think WTF?

Happy reading!

Brittany 

Top Ten Tuesday(Freebie): I Want To Reread

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is:

Top Ten Books I Want To Reread!

One of my reading goals for the year is to reread at least 20 books. I'm doing really well with it, but there are still a lot of books I want to try and get to this year. So here are the ones at the top of my list.

10. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

I read this one when it first came out and I absolutely loved it. So I think it's time I give it another go. I want to remember what I loved so much about it. But I'll definitely be leaving it till Christmas time.

9. Starters

I also read Starters when it first came out. And I really enjoyed it. With the sequel finally released(two years later...) I want to read it, but I can't remember much that happened. So I need to make time to do a reread here so I can continue on.

8. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Another series I want to continue of with but can't. I read this one right around the time it was released almost three years ago. Than when the second book was released a year later I could not remember anything. Nothing. So I was going to do a reread but I never got around to it. And with the third book being pushed back a few times I decided to wait until there was a solid release date. It looks like it will finally be released this fall, so time to get my reread on.

7. Graceling

I just feel a need to. It's one of my favourite books/series and it's been far to long since I first read it.

6. The Sea of Tranquility

I only read this one less than a year ago. But I just loved it so so much. It's another one I just need to reread ASAP.

5. Anna and the French Kiss & Lola and the Boy Next Door

With the much anticipated release of Isla and the Happily Ever After finally getting closer. It's only fitting that I pick up these two lovelies and get my cute on.

4. Lord of the Rings

I've read The Lord of the Rings quite a few times. But it has been years since I last picked it up. I'm in a LOTR mood, so it's time to get back into Middle Earth. I'll probably do my reread by audio this time.

3. The Lost Girls

I don't read a lot of non-fiction but this one just spoke to me. And now that I'm actually the age of the girls I think it will resonate ever more so with me. And I absolutely loved the book.

2. The Study Series

One of my favourite trilogies easily. And I was really getting the itch to give it a reread. Than last year Snyder said she was going to continue on with the series with three more books to come. I was shocked but sooooo excited. So now knowing there's more to come of Yelena and Valek I am even more desperate to pick up these guys up again.

1. Outlander

Another one of my favourite books/series. It has been far to long since I first read it(probably six years). Actually far to long since I've last read a book in the series. But that's soon to change with the hugely anticipated release of the eighth book in the series releasing next month. Outlander was first released twenty-two years ago. It's taken that long to get to the eighth book and there's still one more to come. The wait for that one might kill me. But I'm also dreading it.

Any books you want to reread soontime? Don't forget to link up your TTT below.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Showcase Sunday #37

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.

Hey guys. How goes it? It's been a kind of hectic week for me. I'm busy packing, which sucks. I don't think there's enough boxes in town for all my books. I seriously used all my smallish boxes yesterday and that wasn't even close to being all my books. I love my books so much, but right now we're not friends. Lol.
It was also a slow book obtaining week. Which is fine because last week was insane. And packing them up makes me not want anymore right now.

E-Books Purchased

Won

Get anything good this week? Link up your weekly haul if you have one.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Publisher: Balzer + Bay
Publication Date: October 1st, 2013
Pages: 389
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3.5/5
Add to Goodreads

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

There was so much hype surrounding this book before it's release. And I can see why. A YA book the deals with teen pregnancy is a pretty rare find. And even rarer is one that does it realistically. I may not be a teen mother or a mother for that matter, but I've had friends who dealt with all the emotions and issues that arise from having a child way too young. I saw first hand the hard decisions they had to make and how the relationship changed with the baby daddy. So I think Cotugno did a pretty good job capturing the emotional journey of teen pregnancy and the after affects.
I also buddy read this with Samantha from The Secret Life of a Bookworm. Which I think was a smart idea on our part. We do quite a few buddy reads, but How to Love is one that's going to have varying opinions and reactions. So it's a really good book to read with someone. As you can discuss with them as you go along or when you're done reading.

How to Love is told in alternating chapters; the before and after. The before is the lead up to Reena getting pregnant. It's the start of her relationship with Sawyer. Reena has known Sawyer her whole life. Their families are very close. In fact their parents own a restaurant together. So Reena and Sawyer have spent their time growing up there. But they've never been particularly close. That doesn't mean Reena hasn't loved him from afar. And than one day Sawyer does take notice of her and from there starts their rocky relationship. They spend the next few months fighting and making up. Sawyer is a lot of firsts for Reena. But he's also in a very bad place and Reena can see that but she's also in love. So that tends to fog up your perceptions. Than one day Sawyer is gone. No good-bye. No reason why. He's just gone. Reena also just found out she's pregnant.
The after is three years later. Reena is a mother now to her beautiful daughter, Hannah. Of course she loves Hannah to no end, but Reena's life has been anything but easy since Sawyer left. Not only was she fifteen and pregnant but now she had to deal with telling her family by herself. And well that didn't go over so great. Her father is very religious, so having an unwed pregnant teenage daughter did not go over so well in his books. In fact three years later and their relationship is not all that better. Also Sawyer's parents, especially his mom, have decided that ignoring the matter will make it go away. They rarely show interest in their granddaughter. Luckily Reena has her step-mom. She is definitely her steady rock. Than Reena's life is thrown through an even bigger loop when Sawyer suddenly turns back up. He's different. And he wants back into Reena's life. So Reena has to work on whether she should forgive him and getting to know Sawyer again.

Before Reena was a little clueless, a bit of a push-over and to in love with someone that wasn't good for her. But it takes a strong person to survive what life threw at Reena. So she survived. She made adjustments to her life and didn't give up. Sure she had to give up on some of her dreams. But she's taking classes at the local college. She has a boyfriend. And she has a beautiful daughter. I really like Reena. But I also have my qualms. And they really started when Sawyer showed up. Firstly Reena is still a bit of a push-over. She needed to stand up for herself to her dad and Sawyer's parents. I understand they're family and it's very hard to tell a member of your family, especially a parent where to go. But their attitude towards Reena was unacceptable. It was a constant worry and hurt for her. That's not right. You got to stick up for yourself. Especially when what happens in your life will affect your daughters life too. Secondly the whole Sawyer situation. Of course Reena is going to be confused over Sawyer. But man did her bad decision making take front and center in her life whenever Sawyer was involved. The lying. The secrets. God, I just wanted to shake her. Especially with the way she treated her boyfriend. What a great guy and she just blows him off. That being said, by the end of the book I was pretty proud of her. She made progress with her father and started to take better control of her life.

The biggest downfall with my ability to love How to Love was Sawyer. I had a hard time believing what he was selling. Before Sawyer was a wreck. Drugs, fighting, just everything. He needed help. And he eventually realize that. As to why he took off. He went to get the help he needed. But just leaving without telling anyone was pretty pathetic. So now there's after Sawyer come to make up for his wrongs. I can't fault him for not coming back earlier because he didn't know about Hannah. But that doesn't stop me from disliking the guy. After Sawyer is a definitely a much better person then before Sawyer. He cleaned up his life. And it's clear that now he knows about Hannah he wants to be in her life. But he showes up with this entitlement about him. He just expected Reena to take him back. He had no care about her current life and that she was in a relationship. He came back a better person, so of course she would want him back. Sawyer just rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't find him charming. I didn't like his attitude. I was just not team Sawyer.

Although How to Love didn't wow me and I didn't agree with the ending. I still really enjoyed the book. It's emotional and realistic. And shows how something unexpected and life changing is survivable. And how you don't have to give up on your dreams, you might just have to postpone them.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Top 5 Wednesday: Books I Devoured

Top 5 Wednesday is a meme started by Lainey at Ginger Reads Lainey. Find the list of all the #T5WFamily here.

This weeks topic is:

Top 5 Books I've Devoured!

There are plenty of books I've devoured. And I'm far to lazy to get that list down to only five. So I've picked the last five books that there was no way I was putting down. They were read it one sitting and probably made me extremely tired and grouchy at work the next day(or more so than usual).

5. Fire & Flood

Fire & Flood is a super fun and quick read. It's pretty action packed and I couldn't stop flipping the page. I needed to know what was going to happen in the game right than. There was no stopping me. I regret nothing.

4. White Hot Kiss

I could add any JLA book to this list. I finally read my first book of her's a few months ago and I have not stopped since. I think I've devoured at least ten of them so far. Mostly they've all been one sitting reads. Anyhow, White Hot Kiss has been my favourite to date and the one I got through the fastest. Roth has nothing to do with that at all. Nothing...

3. Maybe Someday

I'm a massive Hoover fan, so when my copy of Maybe Someday arrive I knew I was dropping everything to read it. I think I started it at around 10pm thinking I read for a hour or so. Yea, right. I kept doing the one more chapter thing and next thing you know it's 2am and I'm a hot mess. This book will easily be one of my favourite reads for 2014. It is beautiful, unique and emotional draining. Just perfect!

2. Nash

I've just recently binge read the Marked Men series(well the books out so far) and all four of them I ate up. But seeing as Nash is the latest one and my favourite so far it's getting the spot. Like a lot of new adult books the covers are cheesy or overly sexual and that can keep me away. Sure all the guys on the Marked Men books are hot but that's not going to make me pick up the book. Thankfully I had someone push me to start the series(thanks, Sam!). Now I'm obsessed with this group of intense guys and kick-ass girls.

1. Burn for Burn

I just finished this one last week. And man it was kind of intense. These girls are out for revenge and I just needed to know how and if they would pull off their plans. Burn for Burn is also pretty Mean Girls-esq. And I can't not eat up anything that reminds me of Mean Girls. Amirite?

What are some books you've recently devoured?

Happy reading!

Brittany

Release Day: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

Publication Date: May 20th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 384
Add to Goodreads

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

Amazon.com  Amazon.ca  Barnes and Noble  Chapters Indigo  Book Depository





Paula Stokes

Paula Stokes is half writer, half RN, and totally thrilled to be part of the world of YA literature. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she graduated from Washington University and the Goldfarb School of Nursing. When she's not writing, she's kayaking, hiking, reading, or seeking out new adventures in faraway lands. Paula loves interacting with readers! Find her online at www.authorpaulastokes.com or on twitter as @pstokesbooks.

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Happy reading!

Brittany

Top Ten Tuesday: Books About Friendship

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks topic is:

Top Ten Books About Friendship!

For the life of me I couldn't think of any books I've read that are strictly about friendship. So friendship might not be the main theme of the books I've picked but I found it to be very prominent and important aspect of the story. It also seems I picked a lot of middle grade books. Although that's not totally surprising.

10. Counting by 7's

9. Kingdom Keepers

8. The Chaos Walking Trilogy

7. The One and Only Ivan

6. The Raven Cycle

5. Code Name Verity

4. The Book Thief

3. Percy Jackson

2. The Lord of the Rings

1. Harry Potter

What are some of your favourite books with strong friendships? Link up your TTT if you made one.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Review: Dangerous Creatures(Dangerous Creatures #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Little Brown Books
Publication Date: May 20th, 2014
Pages: 368
Series: Dangerous Creatures
Source: Netgally/Publisher
Rating: 3/5
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A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed...others are dangerous.

Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she's a bad girl. She's Dark. She's a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she's around. Lucky for her, Wesley "Link" Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn't hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of Beautiful Creatures, are back and casting another magical spell. Their signature mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with a dash of fun and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

I was excited yet a little skeptical when I heard that there would be more books in the Beautiful Creatures universe. It's one of those things that I can't help but think, "why do we need to resurrect the series?" But seeing as Dangerous Creatures moves away from Ethan and Lena and focuses on Ridley and Link I did feel the need to want to pick up the book. Rid and Link were definitely my favourite characters. I'd love to learn more about them and get their POV's. And you do get that. I'd definitely recommend only picking up this book if you've read the Caster Chronicles series. and I'd also recommend picking up the 0.5 novella Dangerous Dream as it's a pretty good buffer between Beautiful Redemption and the start of Dangerous Creatures. It also sets up the events of what's to come. And I think without having read it I might have been a little confused as to how Rid got herself in the situation she's in in Dangerous Creatures.

Link and Rid are off to NYC. They've just spent the summer apart after Rid had a temper tantrum and ran off. But well she was off being Rid she got herself into some trouble in NYC and suddenly she needs Link again. So off they go, just as they planned at the beginning of the summer. Link is hoping to find a band that needs a drummer so he can be the music star her's always wanted to be. As they get closer and closer to NYC Rid decides she can't fully keep her secret anymore. But Rid being Rid doesn't tell Link exactly what trouble she's in. She doesn't let him know that her trying to cheat her way through a high stakes game didn't go as planned and she got caught. She now owes a powerful guy a favour and a new drummer for his band(she may have taken out his). So that's where Link comes in, she just happens to know a band that needs a drummer.

We get a whole bunch of new characters in Dangerous Creatures but there's some old ones that make appearances. And those old ones that show up are ones that are holding a vengeance. It's not good news for Rid and Link. In fact Lena may have changed their world more than anyone had expected. Lena changed the way of things, which has allowed creatures that are more powerful and different than the Castor world has known to be formed. Also not good news for Rid and Link.

For the most part Dangerous Creatures is from Ridley's POV. She's definitely the same old Rid you remember from the previous books. She's loud, flashy, sneaky, and distrustful. But as you continue through the book you always realize she's a little lost and broken. She's a dark Siren. The way she acts is how she thinks she's supposed to act. She's not supposed to love and care. Unfortunately Link is that thorn in her side. She may never say it out loud and her words and actions might prove otherwise, but she loves him in her own way.
Link is still Link. He's sweet and music obsessed. He loves Ridley and just wants her to say what he knows she wants to say. But she won't and her actions in NYC are just piling up against her. Eventually Link just can't put up with her anymore. She's standing in his way. And apparently even Link has a pressure point.
Their relationship is as explosive as always. And with Ridley keeping secrets and when one of the band members nearly gets killed by a dark Siren and fingers point at Rid. Even Link can't help her out. He can only care so much. Link's believe and caring in her is his strongest abilities I think. Even when it seems like his fully given up on her, he hasn't.

I will admit to being a little let down. I expected more from the story. It was just kinda of messy and all over the place. I don't know if the book was written too fast and story points were left out? Because that's what it seems like. The main plot points and who you come to find out as the antagonists aren't wholly original. It's as if it's just a continuation of Beautiful Redemption. A character just stuck on revenge. Just a little boring for me. But I enjoy Rid and Link, so that kept me reading. And will probably make me continue the series.

Happy reading!

Brittany

Showcase Sunday #36

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme held by Books, Biscuits and Tea. It allows fellow bloggers to show off any books or bookish things they've compiled over the week.

Hey guys. How was your week? I went to another author event this week. It was for Moira Young. I'm a big fan of her Dust Lands trilogy and was extremely excited to pick up the last book and see how it would all end. Moira is a wonderful person. I just love meeting authors.
I also got a hugely ridiculous amount of books this week. Like it's a little over whelming the amount. But I didn't spend my money on a lot of them so that kind of makes up for it. Haha! I also don't have internet at home, so I've run into work to write this post up. And of course I forgot to take pictures of the books, so unfortunately it'll have to just be standard book covers. :(

Purchased

E-Books Purchased

For Review

*Thanks to Quirk books

What did you guys get this week? Link up your haul if you have one.

I also have a giveaway going on. Don't forget to enter.

Happy reading!

Brittany