Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur

Rating: 2/5

"Sixteen teenagers taken from their homes. Eleven bodies recovered, each completely drained of blood. Some believe vampires are responsible. Jon Barnett knows that what’s happening is far worse. Sent by a group of paranormal investigators known as the Damask Circle, Jon quickly becomes enmeshed in a web of black magic and realizes he needs help. But fate gives him only one choice."

With a synopsis like that, how could I not expect edge-of-your-seat suspense? But I guess the other half of it should have warned me...

"Madeline Smith has retreated to an isolated farmhouse, afraid of the abilities she cannot control—abilities that have killed. But when a “ghost” brings a warning of danger and her nephew goes missing, Maddie not only has to leave her haven, she has to place her trust in a man who is neither ghost nor human. As the noose of sorcery tightens, the search for the teenagers becomes a race against time. But the greatest danger to Maddie and Jon could be the intense feelings they refuse to acknowledge but cannot ignore."

That one sentence should really take up more than one little line of the synopsis, because for me, CIRCLE OF FIRE felt more like a sappy insta-love story than anywhere near a thriller.

This book is about 45% romance, 45% repetition and 10% action. while reading the CIRCLE OF FIRE, we would constantly be reminded of how badly Maddie's past has messed her up and made her become oh-so-scared and how Jon could tell something had messed her up and mad her oh-so-scared.

And honestly? If this story's main characters weren't adults, I never would have guessed that this was an adult book... The writing was extremely simple and juvenile, and there was the annoying repetition at least every page or two throughout the entire book. Every other page we were either reminded about 1)how Maddie's past still effects her to this day or 2)how drawn Maddie/Jon was to the other.

However, it is the small bit of action and this books simplistic writing style that is it's saving grace. The small bit of action at the end made me bump up my rating from 1 star to 2 stars, and the simplistic writing is what was allowing me to finish the book.

I think the main reason I disliked this book so much was because the synopsis mislead me. Going into it I expected an intense, magic-filled thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat. Yes, this book was filled with magic, but the thriller part just wasn't there for me and was instead taken over by the extremely aggravating love story between Maddie and Jon.

If you plan on reading this book, please be sure it's because you want one of those sappy love-stories. If you go in expecting what I did, I have no doubt that you will be just as disappointed as I was.

Indelible by Dawn Metcalf

Rating: 3.5/5

Joy already has a tough enough life before a stranger tries to stab her in the eye. Her mom abandoned their family in the company of a younger man, her brother Stefan doesn’t talk to her since leaving for college and Joy just can’t relate to her father. Needless to say, Ink stabbing her in the eye is the last thing Joy needs. Especially when he accidentally misses and ends up marking her as his instead. Thus, Joy is thrust into a new world of strange creatures, dark corners, and danger at every turn.

Joy is a typical YA MC. A whiny, moody, “nobody understand me” type of girl. We are never really given a physical description on her, so it’s pretty hard to make Joy unique from all of the other characters I’ve read about. Throughout the majority of the book, Joy is always the damsel in distress. She does her best to solve her problems, but she always needs to rely on others to finish the job for her. Mind you, most of these situations were out of her control, so we’ll cut her some slack. (Plus, she did really kick some butt in those last few pages!)

As for Ink &Inq, they’re what Melcalf describes as “scribes.” From what I got from the book, they’re there to act as a type of messenger between the other-worldly beings also known as the Twixt. They are given jobs by different members of the Twixt (some warriors, some aether spirits, amongst a whole slew of other un-named creatures), to carry and mark their signaturae on humans so that they can claim them as their own.

Why the Twixt needed them to mark people for them is unknown to me. In the book Metcalf explains it as keeping the Twixt safe and out of the way of exposure… But the only reason Joy was even able to see all these other-worldly creatures was because she has the “Sight,” which obviously gives her the ability to see Ink & the like. Ergo, I am very confused as to why these Twixt would need to keep to themselves from “risk of exposure” if there really is no risk at all.

Now, let’s break down this plot…. Wait. What plot? Pretty much the first two-thirds of this book are dedicated to Joy & Ink and them being seen together so that Ink doesn’t get in trouble for messing up and marking Joy by accident (Ink & Inq claimed that marking Joy was done on purpose so that they wouldn’t be considered fuck-ups & therefore disposable & replaceable). It’s not until you hit about page 200 that there is even a baddy/conflict identified for Ink & Joy to beat/over-come.

So, by now you’re probably thinking to yourself… Lex, why the hell did you give this book a 3.5 star rating if all you’re doing is trashing everything about it? Well, let me tell you…. This book has some unknown addictive quality to it that I can’t even begin to understand… Also, I was really in the mood for a super cheesy paranormal romance thing, AND! THE CREATURES IN THIS BOOK WERE SO FANTASTICAL. I think that’s why the plot and everything else was so lacking, because if I were Metcalf and I had images of these creatures in my head, I would want to spew them out on paper and show them off to everyone, too. These creatures, and the last 150 or so pages make up for pretty much all of the weak points of this book.

I read a review of someone else’s that mentioned that the creatures reminded her of a Miyazaki film and I think that’s why I liked this book as much as I did. I love his movies and I can’t help but be amazed by the different types of creatures. So, if you’re a fan of Miyazaki films I would suggest checking this book out and giving it a shot for yourself. :)

Rapid Reviews (1)

Hey guys!

A good, lengthy review takes a lot of time, thought and effort and thought to produce and sometimes just by missing one I won't write a review on a book. So, I thought I'd start something that I like to call Rapid Reviews! These are basically just books I've recently read but haven't written a full-length review on and not really planning to...

Hopefully this way I will actually post more, because the idea of doing this kind of excites me. :)

So, I'll start with what I've read since I finished The Darkest Minds (check out my review for that here).

The Emerald Atlas
by John Stephens

The Emerald Atlas was a fantastic read full of great characters! I loved Emma, Michael and Kate! They all worked so well together and you could see the obvious love between the three siblings. Being a middle-grade read this book is chalk-full of lots of adventure and wonderful, creative imaginings! I give this one a 5/5 because I simply loved it! :)

Virtuosity

by Jessica Martinez

Virtuosity is a great book about self-discovery and what it really means to follow your dreams. The main-character plays the violin and I'm just a sucker for all things musical so there was no way that I couldn't not like this book. I give it a 4/5 and would recommend it to anyone else who loves music too.

The Friday Society

by Andrienne Cress

Now, this is the book that I got stuck on while I was in my disgusting month-long reading slump. My only complaint about it was how slow it was in the beginning. Since we had to meet all of the  three main characters and wait for them to be introduced to each other, it took me until the last third or so of the book to really get into the story. But once I did get into it I ended up really enjoying it and giving it a 3/5 star rating :). 

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Through Wow, bloggers alike can share what they just can't wait to get there hands on this Wednesday!

I thought I'd do another two books for this week's WoW. So, without further ado... Here is what I'm waiting on this week!

                         Ink by Amanda Sun            A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Ink: First of all, the cover is freaking GORGEOUS, and second of all the summary for the book just sounds amazing, check this out: 

"I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive."

I don't know what you're thinking right now, but all that's going through my head is how much I want to get my hands on this book! Inkheart fascinated me when I was younger. The whole idea of bringing fictional characters to life plastered a huge smile on my face. Hell, it still does. So to see a book being written about a girl who can draw things to life? That is so, so, SO cool!

A Million Suns:
Now, I know that this book has been out for over a year already and that it's sequel Shades of Earth is coming out on the fifteenth, I wanted to point out that I'm waiting on this because I am. So desperately. I read Across the Universe a couple of weeks ago (check out my review here), and I absolutely adored it. So, needless to say, I am eagerly awaiting the day that I open up the cover to it's sequel and devour it page by page.

And for the curious, here's the summary of the book (which may or may not contain spoilers for the first book):

"It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceshipGodspeed. But there may be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision--no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder learns shocking news, he and Amy must race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed, all the while dealing with the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart."

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: Starry Eyes (5/5)

Release Date: December 18th, 2012

Publishers: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 496

Source: Bought

Series: The Darkest Minds #1

A quick summary from Goodreads:

"When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living."

Let me start by saying how  absolutely wonderful The Darkest Minds is. Even though I'm sure an idea similar to this has been published before, Bracken's novel seemed so original and fresh and something that can stand completely on it's own. 

When kids started dying on their 10th birthday as a result of IAAN, the kids who survived started to show that they had unbelievable abilities and were forced into Thurmond and camps similar to it as a result in an attempt at "rehabilitation." Immediately upon their arrival, they were marked with a large red, orange, yellow, green, or blue X across the backs of their camp clothes.

The reds are able to set things on fire.

The oranges can simply whisper something into your ear and you have no choice but to follow their words.

The yellows have power over technology.

The greens are incredibly smart.

The blues can send things flying across a room with a flick of their wrists.

Ruby is classified as a green upon her arrival to camp Thurmond, where she's put into a cabin of other green girls. After a couple of months, all of the reds, oranges, and yellows are sent away after the camp finds them too hard to control, even with the effects of the Calming Wave, set to a certain frequency that only the kids can hear. One day while Ruby is working on the grounds, a Calming Wave is released and has more of an impact on Ruby than it usually does, leaving her head pounding, nose bleeding and passed out on the ground. When she wakes up, she's in the camp's hospital, and the doctor that's looking after Ruby leaves her a note of promised escape.

And from there the story takes off. Ruby then meets Chubs, Liam, and Suzumi, two blues and a yellow. Each character has their own wonderful back story and I just couldn't help but fall in love with everyone of them. Chubs is the unyeilding, loyal, cynical friend who would do anything for you once you get on his good side. 

Suzumi is the little girl who was dealt a harsh life and only wishes for a life where she can fill her days with simple things like pink dresses. 

Liam is the leader of the group. The one who trusts easily and leads with an eager heart. 

There is romance in this book, but this is a romance that only adds to the story, and never takes away from it. Without it, the ending would have had a completely different tone and wouldn't have left me in such an emotional wreck. 

The relationship between the four of them is just so well done that you can see the love that the four of them have for each other through every word, every look, every touch. And I absolutely love the fact that friendship plays such a large roll in this book. 'Cause while romance is great, let's face it. It's in just about every single YA book that you pick up off of the shelves and it can never substitute what the element of strong friendship does in a book.

All together, The Darkest Minds pulls together a little bit of everything that you could ever ask for in a book, and I absolutely loved it, and I can easily say that this book will stick within my top 10 - maybe even my top 3 - for this year. 

Best Books of 2012

So it's that time of the year again! When everything's coming to a conclusion and people start spouting out their best books of the year and what they plan to do for the new year and all that jazz. So.. That's what I'm here to do for you today!

Hmmm... Maybe I'll alternate between the books and what I plan on doing for the new year? Sounds like a plan.

So, coming in at number 10 this year is...

Revived by Cat Patrick

(Review)

I read this book back in June or July (I can't remember which), and I absolutely loved it and it's characters! I went into this book knowing it was a si-fi and I absolutely loved it. So yes, Revived is my #10 read of 2012.

Goal #1: Now, the first goal that I'm going to mention to you guys for 2013 in terms of reading is that I've decided to re-read the whole entire PJO series! Starting with Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief and ending with The Mark of Athena (which I finally got in the mail the other day!), or maybe even The House of Hades, depending on how long it takes me to re-read them all. :D 

Now, book #9 on my list of best books on 2012 is...

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

(Review)

I really, really, liked this book. I completely respect Amy for everything she does for the ships citizens and I just love Elder. My mom got me a copy of A Million Suns from my mom, so I can't wait to start reading it! :)

Goal #2: I would like to read 100 books again this year, but it was a bit of a stress for me the last couple weeks and I was cramming in book after book. So, considering I don't really want to do that again in the new year... I'm going to set my goal for 75, but aim for 100. :)

Coming in 8th place of 2012 would have to be...

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry is so full of cliches, it's ridiculous. But... I absolutely devoured this book because it delivers these cliches in a way that doesn't seem that cliched at all. The details are a little foggy, since I did read it back in February, but I do remember how ris-kay I thought this book was for a YA while I was reading, and I absolutely loved every single word. :)

Goal #3: I want to start branching out a little more, because it feels like all I read are teen books. And considering that I'm approaching the age of 20... I'd like to start reading more adult, non-fiction, and maybe even some more middle-grade books. With that being saaaiiddd... I'd like to read 5 adult books, 2 non-fiction books, and 5 middle-grade books. I know it's not a large number, but I don't want to over-whelm myself or force myself into doing something I don't want to. :P

The 7th best book I read in the year of 2012 is...

Well, it's actually two books.

I figured I'd throw both Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice together since they're in the same series. Again, I read these two in the first half of the year, so I don't remember my exact feelings towards them, but again, I do remember absolutely loving them and devouring each page. This series was nothing but an intense ride the whole way through and I still need to read Bloodlines!

Goal #4: Now, as you all know (or if you don't, just click here to find out), I have a teetering To Be Read tower of books. It would be wonderful if I could stick to my TBR challenge of reading five books before I'm aloud to buy another one. So! Goal #4 is sticking with this plan for the entirety of the year until my TBR pile hopefully drops down to a more reasonable number. :)

Book #6 for the year of 2012 would have to be... 

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

(Review)

I was SO stoked to read this book when I first heard of it. And let me tell you, it did NOT let me down. This book I did read more recently, so the memories of me reading this book are still fresh in my mind. Sophie, the main character of the book, is a very strong protagonist who I loved with all my heart. This is definitely one of the better MGs that has cross over appeal into the YA genre, and I absolutely loved it. I happen to buy this book while the author was promising out swag packs to anyone who bought it that weekend and I was lucky enough that they both fall on the same weekend! :D So that was really cool and nice of her to do. :) Messenger also has a YA book coming out in March of 2013 called Let the Sky Fall and I am SO EXCITED for this book. You don't even know. :P

Goal #5: To finally start up my own YouTube channel! I know I've been going on about starting this thing for a couple of months now, but I really do plan on starting it! Hopefully I'll be able to start it sometime in the new year. :) And I can't wait till I finally get it up and running! :D

The book coming in 5th place for the year of 2012 is....

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

(Review)

I read My Life Next Door back in July and it was probably one of the bestest, cutest contemporary reads I've ever read. This book made my toes curl in happiness as a dopy grin spread across my face whenever the two main characters were together. It's just... If you haven't read this book already, than I really think that you need to go out and get it with some of that Christmas money!

Goal #6: I hope to do the Summer Reading Challenge again for this year, but ACTUALLY COMPLETE IT this time. :P There's about 10 criteria that you have to fill out, some of them being a book that's over 400 pages, a book recommended by a friend, a book that's been sitting on your shelf for over a year, a classic.... And so on. :P Check back again around the end of April for more details on that one!

Book #4 on my top ten countdown of 2012 is....

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I read this book basically as soon as it came out and oh god did I ever love it. Just, this book is SO GOOD. Dare I say... Even better than the Hunger Games? Just thinking about this makes me smile with happiness at how good it was. :):) Hopefully I can re-read it this year in prep for the third and final book in the series!

Goal #7: To participate in NaNoWriMo in 2013! Last year I saw everyone prepping for it and it just made me really really excited! I always have tons of ideas floating around in my head for stories... Maybe I can start prepping early this year and just do an outline for the story before starting to write it in November! :D

Number 3 !  :D

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This was a re-read for me this year. I read it just before Insurgent came out so that I would remember every single detail of this book before getting into the second one! As much as I absolutely LOVED the second book to this series, the first book will forever have a place in my heart as my favourite. :D

Goal #8: This year I hope to par-take in the A-Z Challenge. :D Every year I see tons of bloggers and BookTubers participating in this challenge and I though that I'd give it a go this year! :D

The 2nd best book of the year for me would have to have been...

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Holy cow, do I ever love Brent Weeks. Along with John Green, he is one of my top favourite authors. Never ever has a book by Brent Weeks let me down. I absolutely love his Night Angel trilogy, it being my favourite trilogy of ALL TIME. But anyways. The Black Prism was an epic tale with plot that was so intricate and amazing that I just couldn't put it down. And it was funny too! God. This book just contains the perfect bit of every genre there is. YOU MUST READ IT!

Goal #9: To complete the debut author challenge! I participated in this challenge last year, and while I did read 12 debut novels this year, I did not review them all like the challenge requires. :( So hopefully, the new year will change that! :D

And the NUMBER ONE BOOK of 2012 iiissss.......

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Of course, after mentioning John Green as one of my favourite authors EVER, how could I not put this book as my number one read of 2012? Hazel is just amazing and I love how what you would think of as the main theme or focus of this book actually ISN'T the main theme/focus of this book, but instead is merely a "side-effect" as Hazel would put it. :)

And there you have it, everyone! My top 10 books of 2012 and my 9 goals for 2013! :D

Stacking the Shelves (7)

Hello fellow book lovers! I'm here today to bring you my Stacking the Shelves! :) 

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews. StS allows bloggers alike to share what books they bought/borrowed/received over the past week.

Here's how you can go about making your own STS:

• Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun! 
• You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit! 
• I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you. 
• Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you!

• Visit other participants link to find out what they added to their shelves!

Here are the books that I have received over the past week:

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Elemental by Antony John

 The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

False Memory  by Dan Krokos

Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

The only book I legitimately received as a gift this year for Christmas was A Million Suns by Beth Revis, which my mom got for me. :D (Love you, Mom!) All of the other ones were basically a Christmas gift from me to me. :3 I thought I'd deserved it. ;D

I'm just so excited to start reading every single one of these books! Have you guys ever gotten so swept up with the excitement of a book(s) that you just find yourself staring at them all and not actually reading anything? I find I do it all the time...

But anyways! What did you guys receive this week in books? :D Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?! I got an old-school refurbished Macbook! :D So hopefully I'll be able to start up that YouTube channel that I've been mentioning for a while sometime soon... I'll give more details on that later!

Happy Reading!

      Lex.