Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I've been meaning to review this for a while now.  I have been reading other books and can't take my mind off of this one.

Here is what the back cover says.  (And I will only put what the back cover says and then let you read what you want to in this review to let you decide if you'll want to read it or not.)

"And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me--nothing anywhere but Grace and me--she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, and me holding this moment that was as fragile as a bird in my hands."

There you have it.  Now if you haven't read it yet, there will be some spoilers possibly (I try not to do that--but it can slip up somewhere). 

Shiver is about a girl named Grace who lives by the woods in Minnesota.  But this story is also about a boy named Sam who lives in the woods every winter as a wolf and in the summers as a boy.  Things only get complicated when shy, wolf Sam saves Grace from an attack and then and there had fallen in love with her, and she with him.  But how can they be together if he's only human for four months of the year--if that? 

What I really loved about this story as a whole is how romantic it is.  I was talking to my husband about it and telling him the difference between Twilight and Shiver.  Well, one has vampires and werewolves, the other--just werewolves.  Two, one is set in the Northwest of the United States while the other is set in the Midwest of the United States.  And three, one is more "teenage angsty" while the other one really sets the "romantic tone" more for the story than the "Oh my there is my Romeo" love at first sight deal.

The romance in the story is sweet and touching.  From day one, although he's a wolf in the winter time, Sam loves Grace and watches her from a distance in the woods behind her house.  And Grace, in turn, just keeps an eye out during the winter for her "wolf".  What is so fantastic about the romance in this story is that you get to peek inside both Grace's mind and Sam's mind.  Maggie Stiefvater--I believe--did a fabulous job showing both sides and where they both come from and what they are both thinking during scenes.  I love how more "classicly" romantic it is.  Sam always making up song lyrics and songs for and about Grace and having a love of poetry (what girl wouldn't LOVE that?)  But also with Grace being the empathetic girl who would do anything for Sam.

When a boy from Grace's high school goes missing, things in her life really take a twist and the story gets its momentum from this point and just keeps it building.  Sometimes when I would start to read it, I would want to go further into the story each time to see what I could figure out.

As for the characters, I'm actually always picturing Sam as the more "plain-ish, punk rock" look of a kid which for me, is the disheveled kid who looks like he has no home to go to.  But the more I read about Sam's personality in the story--the more I like him.  Grace is the typical single child, young adult who has very distanced parents (for this type of story anyway) who also took care of herself.  That kind of character--to me--is cliche these days.  Yes, we love seeing stories about kids taking care of themselves, but where are the parents in all of this?  We do see Grace's parents in and out of the storyline, and it's true that the character may not get in trouble if she thinks she can take care of herself most of the time.  But really?  I just wish for once I could read a story about a headstrong heroine that was close to her parents and they were actually involved in the story. 

The storyline for this book--I liked.  I thought it was well driven, well thought out and well put together.

And if you really like the paranormal romances these days--go for it!  This one is so touching of a story that the ending will make you love it more!  Also, the sequel for this book is called, Linger, and it will be released on July 20, 2010.  I've already got it on hold from the library.  I'm very curious to where it will go.

Neverland: Book Trailer and Competition

So, Neverland, a novel by Douglas Clegg is being released tomorrow.

Heres a hint about the premise of the book:

“If you look at the literature of childhood, from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm to the wizard world of Harry Potter, you find a massively confusing world of adult rules, deception and mendacity. Child heroes stumble through this darkness, virtue and purity their only tools of defense against the big, bad world of adulthood. Sometimes this world is Wonderland. Sometimes it is a gingerbread house…In Douglas Clegg's newest book he calls this world Neverland. ..While the adults in the story teeter around drunkenly unaware, the children are waging a battle. Like childhood itself, it is a battle where the rules are unknown and the damage is unfathomable. ..Neverland is a mix of Southern Gothic, horror and coming-of-age story--a chilling adult bedtime story for those not afraid of the dark.”

—Shelf Awareness

To celebrate and publicise the event Douglas Clegg is having an amazing competition at his website www.douglasclegg.com . So I highly recommend everyone hops over to the site as they could be in for the chance at the Grand Prize of either a Kindle or a Nook (if you're in the U.S.). You’ll also be able to check out exclusive, limited-time ebooks, and special bonus content including upcoming goodies such as a special videogame!

I'm really excited to start reading this book, especially after seeing the trailer. I think it's one of the best trailers I've seen in a very long time. Gave me a severe case of goosebumps and a chill down the spine, so if this is any indication, the book should be excellent (and also scary as hell - i'm thinking row row row my boat will never be the same for me!!!)





( heres the link)

Fallen - Lauren Kate

So, I've been very slow in my fiction reading lately, amazing what a three hour delay on a train will do to help that!!!

Luckily for me, I happened into Easons before I got on my train and bought 3 for 2 books - one of which was Fallen by Lauren Kate.

Fallen, is a story about a girl called Lucie who is being 'reformed' after a terrible incident by being sent to Swords & Cross. There she meets a lot of strange young people, including two love interests Cam and Daniel. As the story progress, Lucie begins to realise that things aren't as normal as they seem, and that something is very different but comforting/familiar about Daniel.

Ok, so essentially Fallen follows the YA paranormal template, where Lucie is a new girl with something special about her who arrives at a new school and meets this strange new guy, who she is absolutely infatuated with and becomes obsessed with finding out his secrets.

This is what YA paranormal usually consists of, so I'm not going to go on about originality etc. as the way I see it, there is always a general pattern in all genres. Also I don't think it does this book justice to make comparisons.


*Spoiler Alert*


Back to Fallen, I really liked this book. I started reading it as a distraction on a stuffy warm train and it helped the time fly by for me (which is saying something). Once I was home, I had to keep reading.

I think Lauren Kate did an amazing job with this story and her characters, especially IMO Cam. It would have been so easy to cast him as the villain of the piece, but you really don't get to see this side of him till the end of the book. Seriously, although I read of the back of the book, I felt more drawn to Cam as the romantic lead (I honestly don't know what that says about me) - he was charming, perfect etc. yet you got hints that although Lucie felt something for him, there was a tinge of something darker attached.

The book is also nice and suspenseful, the pacing is perfect. I never felt that she was a] rushing the tension/love plot (till the end) or b] dragging it out. She just got it exactly right, so that I just kept turning the pages and was pulled into this world.

Like I said before, this story contains the YA template but it does have other suspenseful elements and can be dark in places. Lucie is not a perfect character, she is flawed and is full of guilt and fear over her past, but she is relatable and likable. I liked the minor characters as well such as Penn, whose death I felt was unnecessary. I imagine she would have made a nice human/grounding character for the future books, essentially someone to crack a joke or help Lucie remember being half normal.

I enjoyed that there is a bigger story behind the love story, that there is actually something bigger to be revealed as I continue with this series and that we don't (like Lucie) get all the answers by the end of the book. I'm really fascinated by Cam and Daniel's relationship and how this will all play out.

I give this book 8/10 though, because I felt that 'the shadows' explanation Daniel gave was a bit blah, I'm hoping that something more will be revealed here as I thought they were more than just demon gossips, especially with what happened to Trevor and Todd. I felt that the Sophia character was just a bit *there*, like she was thrown in as a twist and I didn't think she was exactly necessary. Lastly, 7/8ths of this books is excellently written and page turning good, but I felt that the action parts and the last chapter were not up to the standard of the rest of the book.

But I absolutely loved the epilogue, and am completely intrigued by where this story is heading and what Lucie's place is in relation to both Daniel and Cam.

So I do recommend you give this a read. It's fun, dark and romantic but with a dash of something bigger to come.

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

From the back

When her fiery older sister Bailey dies abruptly, seventeen year old Lennie, bookworm and band geek, is catapulted to the center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole world exploding.

The Sky Is Everywhere starts off with a poem. It’s simple, but filled with grief. That is where we meet Lennie, the main character. Lennie and the other cast of characters in this book is the reason why I gave this book seven stars. Characters and plot are the two huge factors that play into how I review, and in TSIE, Jandy Nelson delivers. Her characters are so bold and bright that anyone reading can’t help but to fall in love with them. Bailey’s family is especially charming to me, with and Uncle who tries to bring bugs back to life and a Grandma that paints green people.

Plot, the second huge factor of my reviews, did not deliver as much as characters did. Parts of the novel were extremely slow moving and hard for me to get through. There are at least 10 pages of unnecessary talk that could be removed and nothing would be missing.

The poems that are interspersed throughout the novel are what I believe to be the greatest treasure in the book. Each one, written by Lennie, tells a history of the two sister’s relationship, even after one of them is dead.

I give The Sky Is Everywhere 7 stars.

Evermore - Alyson Noel.

My cat and i decided we should review the series we have been enjoying lately (When i say cat i mean, i read he sits on my knee and gets cuddles.)
With out giving to much away i would like to give a brief overview of the story.
Ever Bloom's life was torn apart one tragic night when her mother, father, little sister and dog were killed in a tragic road accident. To make matters worse Ever had to be uprooted and moved from her home in Oregan to Laguna beach with her only living realative, her aunt. Not long after a boy came to town that would not only change her lift but had done so already, while she was dealing with the death of her loved ones she would have to deal with things no one ever would Ever realize.
At first i found this book quite slow, the plot dragged on and on until there where only 'about' 50 pages left then WHAM, i was shocked when the pin dropped, as soon as the pin dropped i was totally addicted.
The story was well writen and flowed nicely.
There are a couple of annoying consistancies (I am up to book three). While i like Alyson Noel's work her over use of "i pressed my lips together" is getting kind of annoying, and Ever's on going fued with school bullie does not seam to have a point, ok i guess every story needs its villan but i just dont get the point of theirs.
Having said that these annoyances are my personal ones and are extremely easy to look past.
It has a romance story similar to Edward and Bella's from Twilight but is so much more modern and realistic and Damen does not treat Ever like his little puppet.
If you liked twilight you will love this.
if you hated twilight you will still love it.
It's different and Alyson Noel is such a better writer then Stephanie Meyer.
all in all i completely love this series.
8/10 stars

New and ready to review!

Ok so!
I'm the newest reviewer here at The Book Bundle, My name is Monique i am 22 and i live in Australia. I love to write, read and listen to music.
I only recently began to enjoy reading, not only does it help me relax but it enhances my writing skills. Seeing has i want to be an Auther, thats important to me.
I'm very honest and opinionated so if i think a book really sucks i will say so, and wont be shy about doing it.
i will read anything once but my prefereances are Tough luck type stories, paranormal, young adult, i like things that are different, that go against the norm, but as i said i will read anything once, oh i really like reading series', you know things that go on and on, lol i hate things ending, if that makes sense.
obviously, i like to talk can go on and on. wops.
if you want me to review somthing,
you can email me:
thepastisinthepast@gmail.com
If you want to get to know me more here are a few options:

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/MissGC
facebook:
www.facebook.com/MissGC
Booksie (personal writing)
www.booksie.com/MissGC
and my other blogs:
UPWA:
http://unpublishedwritersassotiation.blogspot.com/
Personal:
http://missgc-monique.blogspot.com/


ok im going to go. . . and write my first review or somthing, looking forward to getting to know some of you

xx
Monique

Sorry...Kinda Slow Around Here Lately

Sorry all you avid readers!  Things have been kind of slow with the Bundle. 

Although I've been trying to zoom through the books in my "To-Read" List. 

I'll be posting reviews shortly of these titles, so look out for them!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull
Revelations and The Van Alen Legacy (last 2 books of the Blue Bloods series) by Melissa de la Cruz
Fallen by Lauren Kate
The Midnighter's Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

I'm sure all the other reviewers/authors/bloggers on here will be back shortly.  Just keep on the look out for future reviews coming up.