Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Keep watching to see what books I got this week and my very cool and exciting announcement. 

Books for Review:

Once by Anna Carey

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Drain You by M. Beth Bloom

Books Bought:

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Follow Friday

Follow Friday time! Follow Friday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. The meme promotes new blog followings along with featuring a book related question. This week's question is:

This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother's Day, in celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

I love when a book has a healthy parent-child relationship. Most books that I read don't normally focus on  the mother, if she is even present, so its always refreshing to read about them. The first books that came to mind were Unearthly and Hollowed  by Cynthia Hand. In this series, Clara lives with her single mother, who is ever present and loving. As an angel, Clara's mother serves as a sort of guardian that guides Clara through her mission and her role as a part angel. The love between mother and daughter is beautiful in this book and will tear you apart in Hollowed. Their relationship is truly written with emotion and developed instead of pushed to the side like most stories. 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent
Series: Divergent #2
Author: Veronica Roth
Published: May 1, 2012 by Harper Teen
Rating:                                  
                                                                                                                                             
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.

My Review

All I can really say is, Wow, this book has literally just blew every distopian away. If Divergent was just the beginning, and the middle was this incredible, then I'm dying to see where this series ends because this story has just gotten started. 

Insurgent brings readers face to face with a whole new load of obstacles. The impending war between Euridite and Dauntless raises the stakes in this book, forcing the remaining factions and factionless to decided where their allegiance lies. The action has intensified with grittier violence, heart wrenching sacrifices and cruel betrayals that will leave you shocked out of your mind! The fighting sequences are so well choreographed and scripted that you honestly feel like you're watching a movie inside your mind!

I loved that we get to travel into the headquarters of the other factions- Candor, Amity, and even the factionless warehouses - it widened the scope of this series and introduced a lot of new and amazing characters to these books. We also got to learn more about the customs of each faction which I found fascinating. One scene in particular, where Candor (the 'truthful' faction) interrogates Tris, literally gave me goosebumps. 

The dystopian bar has definitely been raised with Insurgent. The level of intensity and desperation amongst the characters is magnetized and so clearly felt by the reader. There are countless scenes that just leap off the pages with adrenaline. This is not only true for the more dangerous encounters but also for the romance between Tris and Four. Their relationship has developed into a much more complex and deeper love that has been built beautifully. If it is even possible, Four has become even more swoon worthy!

My only advice going into this book: if you read Divergent awhile ago, to do a quick review. Starting Insurgent, I didn't realize that Roth does not do any summarizing or back tracking. Therefore, if you're like me and read Divergent when it first came out some of the parts are a bit hazy coming into its sequel. You don't need an extensive recap, just something to freshen the details.

It is hard to describe my love for this series. This is a story that transcends two books perfectly with a plot line that continues to mold and develop with some of the wildest twists and turns. With incredibly shocking revelations (OMG THAT ENDING!) you will be left with your heart pounding and jaw hanging open. I can only urge you all to go and pick up this series. You will be sucked in and you will fall in love!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's theme is: Top Ten Favorite Quotes from Books. I could seriously look up book quotes forever and it took a lot of will power to leave this list at 10.

Life is an awful, ugly place not to have a best friend

 Sarah Dessen, Someone Like You

 Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love-

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us

Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

My daddy said, that the first time you fall in love, it changes you forever and no matter how hard you try that feeling just never goes away

 Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

I love you. Remember. They cannot take it

 Lauren Oliver, Delirium

And I'm supposed to sit by while you date boys and fall in love with someone else, get married...? And meanwhile, I'll die a little bit more every day, watching

Cassandra Clare, City of Glass

There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heart beat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment 

 Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever

You don't forget the face of the person who was your last hope

 Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

Being with you never felt wrong. It's the one thing I did right. You're the one thing I did right

 Becca Fitzpatrick, Crescendo

He took his pain and turned it into something beautiful. Into something that people connect to. And that's what good music does. It speaks to you. It changes you

 Hannah Harrington, Saving June

Stacking the Shelves (1)

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews!

Books Mentioned:
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Swag:
Autographed Bookmark from Michelle Madow (THANKS MICHELLE!)
Autographed Walking Dead action figures from AMC

Slated by Terri Terry

Title: Slated
Author: Terri Terry
Series: Slated #1
Published: May 3, 2012 by Orchard Books

Rating: 

Can you know the truth if your mind has been wiped?


Kyla's memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost forever. 


She has been slated. 


The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance- as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla's mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth? 

My Review:

 Slated is a book that I normally wouldn't come across during a regular book haul. Its one I hadn't heard much about and it didn't seem to monopolize the book blogging radar. However, the summary sounded intriguing and very reminiscent of The Adoration of Jenna Fox so I decided to give it a try. I AM SO GLAD I PICKED UP THIS BOOK! Slated is a thrilling tale that will warp the way you think and leaving you desperate for its sequel!

This book blew my mind, which if you read it is pretty ironic. The story follows newly slated Kyla, a teen with a troubled past who as a result has her mind completely erased in order to be given a fresh start. The Slating process involves completely starting over- the person must relearn every basic function, is adopted out to a new family, and must wear a Levo bracelet, which is a monitoring device limiting the slated's mood, until they are 21. Those who have been slated are closely watched by the government, their emotions cannot fluctuate in fear of regressing back to violence, they must attend support groups to learn coping and integration methods, and are generally ostracized as 'government spies' by the majority. For Kyla, living as a slated is a learning experience especially as she soon realizes that she is different. 

I absolutely loved Kyla's character. Reading through her perspective is so imaginative- it truly felt like you were learning about the new world right along with her. Facts about this future government as well as Kyla's mysterious past sprung up throughout the story, bringing about new realization for both the reader and Kyla. I definitely appreciated Kyla's curiosity. She wasn't as accepting of this new life as most slated and wasn't afraid to question the practice.

The relationships in this book are also so wonderfully written. Kyla and her new sister Amy had such a loving and sweet partnership that reminded me of my own sister. Kyla's new mother was also a refreshing and complex character. I actually enjoyed her voice in this book more than I initially thought. And of course, Ben, the ever present love interest, who undoubtedly stole my heart! Watching the innocent encounters between the two slateds was enamoring!

Its the plot though that will really make you fall in love. This story is so original and thrilling. There were countless moments that I was left with shivers because this story is so riveting!

This book will enrapture your mind. The writing is fabulous and the plot is perfectly constructed. Every piece of this story fits so well into leaving you with a lasting impression. There is a lot of depth in this story that will definitely make you think, which is my favorite part of any book. I highly recommend this Slated to all!

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Evil
Author: Wendy Higgins
Published: May 1, 2012 by HarperTeen
Rating:


*A copy of this book was provided by HarperTeen for review

What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip to meet her father forces Anna to face the reality that hope and love are not options for her kind. When she confronts her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

My Review: 

Forget everything you know about Angel books because Sweet Evil has just twisted this fast growing genre into a tumultuous love affair! This book is all bout bringing the bad to the angelic and corrupting the innocent in such a dark and twisted way. Its utterly addicting and will tempt any girl into bending her halo.

The premise of Sweet Evil screams maturity. (I mean, look at that title!) Anna is a good girl with some special abilities- she can detect others' emotions through colorful auras- a strange gift with significant meaning. When she meets bad boy Kaiden, self control walks right out the door. He has a dark soul with a purpose of tempting people with his body allowing lust to take over. While the two work on discovering Anna's role with fallen angels, their relationship steams up. Anna and Kaiden's paths become deeply intertwined, moreso than either realize, and they must both decide whether their feelings are worth defying nature to pursue.

My favorite aspect of this book was its brazen approach toward the mature themes. There are a lot of topics presented that aren't normally in typical YA books: sex, drugs, alcohol. These aren't necessary for a successful read, but for this story in particular it added the edge that sent this story to the top. Being a 'bad angel' meant that Kaiden and his friends needed to use and manipulate these subjects and it made the story  so much darker and enjoyable! I'm so glad that Higgins wasn't afraid to add these elements to the story!

The romance is also incredible. The chemistry between Anna and Kaiden is electric and there are some steamy scenes between the two that any girl will appreciate. I love that their relationship faces numerous obstacles, making the fight much more real and appreciated. It also doesn't hurt seeing the 'bad boy' with a good side, although Kaiden hardly shows it. It also ALWAYS a bonus when the guy has an English accent. 

Although the book does have a slow start, once you've gotten into the heart of this story you won't be disappointed. The characters are easy to fall for and then plot will suck you in. Get ready for Sweet Evil's dark temptations!