Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Title: Halo
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Pages: 496
Published: August 31, 2010
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Goodreads Summary:

"Three angels – Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, the youngest and most human – are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They must work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments.Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong.The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?"

Review:
           I have been putting off this book for SO long, because there were other books that I wanted to read more than this one. I REGRET IT, because this book was too amazing to be put off for this long.
I have to admit, it was definitely cheesy, but in a good way. Alexandra Adornetto is such a skilled and talented YA writer, this book was just my piece of cake. The romance in this book was just amazing, I don't think it could have been done any better.
           The characters were all very caring and lovable, it all just was put together very well. Bethany and Xavier.. I don't even know where to start. They are just two lovebirds who can't be separated, and I could really feel their emotion they were feeling for each other, it was so genuine and understandable. Gabriel and Ivy, Bethany's siblings, were super overprotective, but I strangely liked that about them.
I feel like in every relationship, there HAS to be some part where one gets angry at the other, and the one who isn't angry becomes extremely depressed, since their partner is angry at them, and won't talk. Well, you guessed it, it certainly happened between Xavier and Bethany. But I didn't get annoyed because it was just written so painfully surreal that I actually felt really terrible for Bethany. Alexandra Adornetto is just so talented at letting the reader feel what the character feels.
             The plot was well-paced, but I definitely think that Jake Thorn, the "bad guy" in the book, came in 100 pages too late. The first 3/5 of the book was about Bethany and Xavier, while 1/5 of the book was about prom, and the last 1/5 of the book was about Jake, I feel like. He came and left too quickly, which I guess is a good thing (since he IS the bad guy), but a little more suspense would have been nice.
Overall, Halo was, yes, another paranormal story involving angels, but I have really gotten into, and fallen in love with angel stories. So I personally loved Halo! I am so excited to read Hades, the second book in the series! :)

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Waiting On Wednesday (4)

Hi everyone! This is my first Waiting On Wednesday, which is hosted by Jill at BreakingtheSpine! It's basically a Wednesday meme that "spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating". This weeks WoW is:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
(November 15, 2011)

"Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."

Why it's a WoW:
I'm sure EVERYONE has heard of this baby already.. but I reallllllllllyyyyyyyy need to get my hands on it. SOON. I hear that the cover is shiny and beautiful and oh-so-lovable. I also hear that this book is freaking amazing? So yeah. IT SOUNDS INTENSE! Like the "new Hunger Games" ;)


What are you waiting on?

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Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Published: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown & Company
Rating: 5 hearts!

Goodreads summary:
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Racquel's thoughts:
It goes without a doubt that Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the second Divergent of the year and I mean that buzz wise. I haven't read Divergent myself, but everyone has and everyone that has read it loves it and Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the exact same way. It barely came out today and already the hype about it is HUGE, so many people loved it and not a person hated. It's a favorite of the year for 90% of people who read it and let me be the first to say, ALL THE HYPE IS TRUE!

Laini Taylor really is an amazing writer, the world she created is fantastic and her characters are loveable, the plot? A page-turner but I think it's none of that that ultimately makes this book the 5 star deal for everyone but it's the writing.

It is beautiful.

So beautiful I kept rereading sentences because they are just so... fabulous! What do you think of when you hear the names Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel? Classy, beautiful, fabulous and iconic. They make you wanna whip out you're cat frames sunglasses, a ciggy and feel like you own the world. Well this is how the writing of Daughter of Smoke and Bone is.

Fabulous. Excellent. Marvelous. Magnificent. Remarkable. Extraordinary. Brilliant. Spectacular…. Just look up wonderful and all the synonyms you get describe the writing and prose.

Taylor has real skill, she has talent writers wish they had an ounce of. Anyone can come up with a half decent plot, half decent characters and make a half decent novel and sell it but Taylor has the magic. She has the sparkly pink fairy magic dust people wish they had so they can throw it around and wish to make things better.

I mean I bet when you open Daughter of Smoke and Bone the is probably what you will see:

and when you finish it you will be like:

and then you will be feeling:
for reading such a good book!

I kid you not, the writing is that good. I kind of want to eat it from how yummy it is!! I think if we took away the amazing writing we would just end up with yet another fantasy story, granted better then others but ubiquitous nonetheless. Lets be honest, at some parts of the book I was confused to the point where I literally had no idea what was going on but all of that is a trick on Taylor’s behalf and everything does clear up and I think the romance was too insta-love and I didn’t understand all the way how it came about, it just happened. Even after the big GASP happens and that should have cleared all doubts about the love, it still didn’t make 100% sense to me and. Also, Akiva’s past and his ‘kind’ didn’t have a solid background explanation for them to make them convincing and believable but in the end these things don’t smother the fact that the book is unique, it's amazing and mesmerizing and you better read it or I will hunt you down with black fairy dust and the results will not be that of the dreamy kind.

You have been warned.

Rating:

First Line:

"Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister" premonitions about the day."

Teaser:

"of all the theories she'd dreamed up about the other door, she'd never imagined this..."

Favorite:

"...before losing herself in a kiss that made her melt against him like sun-warmed honey."

Have you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Don't hesitate to share you feelings!!

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Top Ten Tuesday |2|

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where every Tuesday we list the top ten books we feel pertains to the week's topic the most and this week it's:

Top Ten Books I Want To Reread

To be honest, I didn't understand this very well because I didn't know if we had to do ten books we never reread but would like to or we can also put we reread before and will reread many times more so I'm going along with both. My first five are books I have reread more the twice and I still want to reread them.


1. Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
Ok this is one of my absolute favorite books, I read it about eight times which I think is the top score for me reading it a book (it's also a tie with Perfect Chemistry) every time I travel (which is every year) I take this with me where ever I may be going an read it again and laugh my ass of all over again like I'm reading for the first time ever.

This. Is. One. Of. The. Funniest. Books. Ever.
Plus. It. Has. A. Big. Shocker.
A.M.A.Z.I.N.G B.O.O.K



2. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
This book has been on my TBR pile for maybe 3 years and I finally read it earlier this year I think in February or March and I wanted to kill myself for waiting so long to read it!! This has earned a place in my favorite books shelf carved in my heart and there are not many who earn that crown! (Only like 7 books are blessed with that title) I only reread this twice but I can see it beating Two-Way Street in the race soon!




3. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Owen Armstrong is all I'm going to say. Of course I will reread this book for him! I will arrange an apocalypse for him!



4. Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas
4 + 5 are not YA but this book is most definitely in the 'special place in my heart shelf'. I pick this book up when I'm feeling blue and it totally makes me so happy! Hardy Cates, oh how I love thee! *sigh* thinking about this book puts a smile on my face. I live in Houston, why couldn't I be the one to snatch the Blue Eyed Devil?

Here is me with my precious copy of Blue Eyed Devil:
It does NOT end there!! I don't just love this book, I love this ENTIRE SERIES!
Sugar Daddy, Blue Eyed Devil and Smooth Talking Stranger
I have the entire series twice or more and here is further prove of my love:


Yes, every time I got a copy of a book in this series I had a picture party & Yes I unfortunately still have to get the third book in the series even though it's my second favorite after Blue Eyed Devil.

Moving on or else I will never shut up about Lisa Kleypas's awesomeness...




5. Julie Jame's Books
I'M GOING TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK JUST THINKING ABOUT JULIE JAMES!
She is the sole author that I read every single book by and love each single one wholeheartedly. *breath Racquel breath!!!* HER BOOKS ARE THE BEST!!!
They're my favorite in the order they were released so from the picture above, left to right is least to most favorite. I absolutely cannot wait until her fifth book About That Night comes out in April. I'll probably lay an egg by then...

This also made my week:


That^ is literally the #1 book I'm dying to read, no question about it....

Ok, all these book now I have never reread but I really want to!


6. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
I suffered from too much excitement while reading this (plus the fact that I was at San Antonio trying to stay alive and beat the heat...) so I rushed through it. I would like to read it again and savor every sentence, word, letter, period, comma and everything in between.



7. You Against Me by Jenny Downham
I was at my grandma's house when I read this so I either had to help around with something or spend time with my family since I hadn't seen them in forever and I was leaving 2 weeks after so I only read this before I went to sleep and when I hid in the bathroom to sneak a few pages, needless to say I need to have a better reading environment/experience while reading this again because it is a great book.

Mikey is mine biotches!



8. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
What can I say? that this is one of my the best books I read this year? That I barely read it earlier this month and I'm still dreaming about? That it's one of the best books ever? oh I already said that:D



9.The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I read this for school a day before the test so I rushed throw it and didn't savor it that much but you bet I will when I reread it! I wished I picked it up earlier but did I expect a hilarious story from a school book? You can't really blame me...



10. Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman
I read this maybe 3 years ago and it's one of the funniest books I have ever picked up so when I found out there is a sequel? I had a mini party. I would like to read it and enjoy this all over again before I read the sequel.

So, what are the top ten books YOU want to reread?

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Review: If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

Title: If I Tell
Author: Janet Gurtler
Published: October 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Stand alone novel
My rating: 3.5 rounds to 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:

Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

Racquel's thoughts:
I didn't really have any opinions or expectation when going into this book. To prove to you how true that is: somehow I read the summary wrong and thought that instead of Jasmine- the MC- catching her mom's boyfriend- Simon- with her bestfriend I though that she caught her MOM with her bestfriend and so I was completely lost at the beginning and when I read the summary again I had an OHHHHH! moment.

Which leads me to, I LOVE WHEN THIS HAPPENS! When I have ZERO expectations about a book and it blows me away (because If I Tell certainly did!) it makes me so happy! It’s the best surprise ever! Sometimes I even hate reading reviews because they get me too excited about a book and excitement ONLY leads to disappointment in my experience.

Jasmine is biracial which is nothing special but if you live in a town where you're either fully black or fully white and your well, the biracial sheep you're subjected to a few not so nice remarks and those remarks definitely scarred Jasmine making her turn to her guitar and one girl as a bestfriend so what do you do when one of those sources betrays you in the worst way possible?

Race and ethnicity is big part of the book, it’s why Jasmine has many problems (even if some of them she created because she was so pitiful) and is so insecure because she believes she doesn’t fit in because she’s not fully black or fully white and no one quite understands her. The whole ethnicity insecurity plays out perfectly I think, it might be the 21st century but I have no doubt in mind people still discriminate and it’s nice to see a book that deals with this. Now I just pick up a book and assume the characters are white so this was nice refresher.

After what she witness, Jasmine basically has no one but Jackson. He comes into town and plays shining knight and along with Ashley (a girl Jasmine gets to become close friends with) they help Jasmine open her eyes about her insecurities and how to get past them and how to deal and accept her ethnicity.

I love how great the romance between Jackson and Jasmine turned out to be, it didn’t happen over the spam of a paragraph but it literally blossomed as I kept reading. All the issues Jasmine is going though are also well handled and patched up reasonably (I’m being vague but I refuse to give anything away!) and the characters are AWESOME! Ashley is blunt and hilarious, Jasmine’s grandma is the best, Jackson is so sweet and amazing I wanted to hug him and even Simon who made a mistake, redeemed himself! BUT I can’t deny how at some parts I hated Jasmine for her ignorance.

Throughout most of the book Jasmine was a pity party, frustrating and a little immature. I mean I understood she’s very insecure and hated how people judged her on how she looks how but wouldn’t you think that would make her not judge people? But she totally judged Jackson and said some very harsh things when all he ever did to her was show her kindness and compassion but she hit him where it hurts: dissed him about his race. But he forgave her, which I think was too easy!! Jasmine couldn’t forgive Lacey (her bestfriend) or Simon all the way but got Jackson forgiveness handed on a silver platter, which was very hypocritical and unfair and I can’t forget how she just assumed the worst of Simon without really trying to figure out what happened or getting his opinion! She went as far as punching him when just like Jackson, all he did was be nice to her!

Besides that, I enjoyed If I Tell. It was a surprise delight that I think everyone should pick up, it deals well with issues of getting over the crap life throws you and handling them the best way fit plus the book has a very cute romance:D

My Rating: 3.5 hearts that I will round to 4

First Line:

"My heart raced as I stumbled down the step."

Teaser:

"I don't want to wreck your diet. I know older guys like you need to watch what they eat."

He eyeballed his chicken sandwich and unwrapped it, ignoring my dig."

Favorite line:

"In line behind Jackson, an annoyingly gorgeous girl with long blond hair was eyeing his butt. I couldn't blame her. It was a butt worth staring at."

*Thank to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me a copy of this book to review*

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Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Pages: 480
Published: March 29, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Goodreads Summary:

"Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late."

Review:

Such. A. Beautiful. Cover.

No seriously, when I saw it, I was immediately drawn to the book, I was enchanted. And luckily, the story was just as amazing as the cover!

I have to admit, the beginning and kind of the middle of the book was a bit slow, but the ending really made up for it. But throughout the entire book, it just had a nice dreamy, flowy, mystical feel to the whole story, and it was really nice. I don't know if a book can be relaxing, but this one was. Especially when Heather Dixon describes the scenes where the 12 sisters are dancing. You can really feel their genuine happiness and comfort when they dance.

It was after I read this book that I found out that it is a German fairy tale retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses! I read the actual story of it and compared it to Entwined, and I actually really loved Heather's retelling of it! She definitely added nice twists and turns along the way. I admire the fact that it wasn't exact.

All of the 12 sisters were extremely lovable. They were all very smart, clever, and beautiful. Some parts were very humorous as well. The whole premise of it was written beautifully.

Overall, I just loved the plot, the retelling, and the writing. If Heather Dixon writes anything else, I am sure to read it!

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Pearl by Jo Knowles

Title: Pearl
Author: Jo Knowles
Pages: 224
Published: July 19, 2011
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.

Goodreads Summary:
Bean (née Pearl) and Henry, misfits and best friends, have the strangest mothers in town. Henry's mom Sally never leaves the house. Bean's mom Lexie, if she is home, is likely nursing a hangover or venting to her friend Claire about Bean's beloved grandfather Gus, the third member of their sunny household.

Gus's death unleashes a host of family secrets that brings them all together. And they threaten to change everything--including Bean's relationship with Henry, her first friend, and who also might turn out to be her first love.

Review:

When I first saw the cover, I honestly thought it was a high fantasy or something. But I was way off! It's actually a contemporary. For me, this type of contemporary wasn't for me. This also isn't your typical contemporary YA novel.

It was very simple, and an easy read. I think that middle grade readers could read this book too, but it was honestly boring. I didn't see a point in the book, I mean most contemporary books don't have points in them, but Pearl just seems especially pointless. It was basically about Bean finding herself. Which could have been done better.

Bean was a very naive character, she seemed very juvenile. It always seemed like she needed Henry's help all the time. And the adults in the book were just terrible parents. I mean I know that they are single parents and all, but Jo Knowles just made them sound as if they didn't care at all.

Overall, the plot for this book was just very mundane and boring. The writing was simple and easy to understand. The content of the book is as plain as the cover. I've definitely read better contemporary fiction.

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Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Title: Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Pages: 435

Published: January 4, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Goodreads Summary:

"In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart."

Review:

The first thing that caught my attention about this book was the cover, no duh. The cover is SO absolutely gorgeous, and even though the image provided doesn't show it, the title is shiny, silver. When I read the synopsis, I KNEW I had to pick it up. I have been wanting to read this book for FOREVER, since I have a tiny, maybe huge obsession with angels. I was very satisfied with this baby.

Clara's sense of humor left me smiling to myself when I read through her thoughts. A typical (ish?) teenager, who is a quarter angel. AND sees visions of herself saving a boy (whom we later find out is Christian Prescott) from a forest fire. Hand really let us understand Clara's confusion on learning about angels, and her frustration. I just loved Clara as a character. Her friends that she makes at her new high school are lovable as well. Wendy, I loved her! And mmm mmm mmm.. Tucker, Wendy's twin brother. Boy is he a little Southern sweetheart! I LOVED TUCKER. Especially his little boyish ways of flirting with Clara. Angela was a very trustful angel friend and I loved her absolute quirkiness. I feel like every goth/loner girl ends up being best friends with the main character. :)

Christian.. I didn't like so much. At first he seemed like the perfect dream (literally) guy that every girl (including the reader?) would swoon over. But when he goes to prom with Clara and sort of rejects her for Kay (his ex), I didn't like him so much anymore. I mean I know he is nice to take a sad ex home, but leaving his prom date is also just rude. Since then I just saw him as a preppy hot guy that doesn't really have any feelings. Even when he comes over to Clara's house to apologize and hangout.

The whole angel concept was sort of a different twist on things, especially the "glory" part. I liked the concept of Black Wings, too. Hand describes them as evil angels, and they really creeped me out for sure. I have to say my favorite parts of the book was not of Clara's visions of her saving Christian, but her spending time with Tucker over the summer. He turns out to be a gentleman, and even in the beginning you can tell he makes fun of her because he's in love with her. IT'S SO ADORABLE. He's adorable. I personally loved Tucker+Clara, and hated Clara+Christian. He just wasn't right for me.

The ending was strange. Apparently Christian is an angel too? And if he new all along that HE was supposed to save Clara, why didn't he try to get to know her like she tried to get to know him? It bothered me. The scene with Sam (the black wing) and Clara and her mom is so intense! It was a bit random though. There were just a lot of parts of the book I liked, and some I didn't.

But overall I'm glad I read this one, since it's been on my must-read-pile for a while. I definitely think it is worth reading the next installment, Hallowed, and I cannot wait to find out what happens between Clara, Christian, and TUCKER!

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Top Ten Tuesday |1|

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is:

Ten Books you feel EVERYONE read but YOU!

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I do solely believe I'm the only person in the entire world who hasn't read this, and oh! I can't forget about Cinnamon (Cindy) over @ the athousandlittlepages! We're special like that;D

2. Hunger Games Trilogy

I actually read half of The Hunger Games but still, everybody is all done with this series and here I am with a couple of chapters left barely on the first book!



3. Hush Hush

My best friend read this and she loves it so to me I feel so out the loop because of her.


4. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I bought this Sunday! SO hopefully I will be among the masses with everyone who read this ASAP.



5. Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

For the month of October, this series makes up my reading list! (since it's Halloween and this deals with faeries... lol)



6. Jessica Darling Series
A contemporary series? I don't know why I haven't read this!



7. Wither by Lauren Destafano

I own this but I still haven't gotten around to it. Plus doesn't this book have the PRETTIEST cover?!



8. The Wolves of Mercy Falls – Maggie Stiefvater

I think everyone has read this but ehh, I'm not TOO excited to read it myself for some reason.


9. Beastly by Alex Finn

Ever since the movie came out definitely everybody read this book but me!

10. Any Jane Austen book

this is a no brainier! Even my sister (who takes like a million years plus two days to read one book) read P&P and S&S!!

What books haven't YOU read?

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