Waiting on Wednesday...Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Exiled from her comfortable home, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland – called the Death Shop – are slim. Violent energy storms can strike suddenly, and even the very air she breathes might kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild, dangerous – a savage. He’s also her only hope.

Because Aria alone holds the key to his redemption, Perry needs her, too. Their unlikely alliance will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Debut author Veronica Rossi is accumulating fans from all over the globe—the book has already sold to more than twenty countries. It’s not surprising that foreign rights for this title have been flying off the shelf. It’s a tantalizing romance in any language.

The cover is so pretty! I also happen to be a fan of the name Aria (my adorable cat's name) and this just sounds awesome. Why does Aria hold the key to Perry's redemption?! I am so excited to get my hands on this one.

Expected release date - January 3, 2012

Frostbite - Vampire Academy #2 by Richelle Mead

Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Release Date – April 10, 2008
Publisher – Razorbill
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 327
My Rating- 9/10
Obtained - from the library

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…

There will be spoilers for Vampire Academy, so if you haven’t read it you may want to wait to read this review. For more information on Vampire Academy you can read my review.

Frostbite returns us to the characters we know and love from Vampire Academy. The characters are ones that you fall in love with. I realized I am now fully invested in Rose, Lissa and the rest. I love that Richelle is able to make us care about the fate of these characters and has us hoping for some form of happiness for them.

Rose’s character is a good balance between the rough, snarky girl we know and the woman she is growing into. She’s changing, and her character growth is amazing. I wish more novels had such an arc for major characters. Her training classes with Dimitri are having a impact in more ways than the physical. Dimitri is still his wonderful, smart, sane self. The chemistry between Rose and Dimitri is electric, and you can’t help by root for them.

Lissa is still the same sweet Lissa from the first book. She is less unhappy, and eager to learn more about her unique powers. I love her and Christian together. Christian is one of my favourites. He’s so haunted by his past, and hurt. I love that Lissa is so good for him and that he is good for her.

The introduction of some new characters spices things up and creates some interesting potential for the upcoming books. Adrian Ivashkov is the most prominent addition. He is snarky, has some great one liners, and can keep Rose on her toes. I love that there is someone that can verbally match Rose’s banter, and look forward to seeing more of him later novels.

In Vampire Academy the fact that the Moroi can use magic was important in the first book, but it plays a major role in this book. The politics of the Moroi society are fascinating to me and I can’t understand why the idea of using the Moroi’s power to fight the Strigoi had not been discussed and implemented.

This series is quickly becoming one of my favourites, and my only complaint is not having book three to dive into right away. Richelle has left enough questions to keep me coming back, answered enough of them to satisfy me, and introduced elements (and characters… I am looking at you Adrian) that I can see causing troubles for some of my favourites. Sigh…Why did I wait so long to start this series? If you haven’t yet please fix this immediately, you won’t regret it.

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Abandon by Meg Cabot
Release Date – April 26, 2011
Publisher – Point
Pages - 304
My Rating- 6.5/10
Obtained - won from a giveaway

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

Ever read a book that frustrates you by not giving you any answers? This applies to Abandon. We are given little bits of information throughout the novel. The narrative jumps around with flashbacks spaced throughout the novel. I felt like a lot of the answers were not given, or took much longer than required to be revealed. We spend so much time hearing about the “accident” that kills Pierce, and the “incident” that happened after she has came back from the Underworld. It takes so long to find out what exactly either is referring to that when we finally have all the answers it is almost the end of the novel.

The main character is one those characters who can’t make up her mind. She also has a tendency to blame EVERYTHING in her life on EVERYONE else. Her mother, John, her father, the fact that she died, etc. I find that she doesn’t take responsibility for her own actions. She ends up having a seven figure lawsuit brought against her, and her attitude is “Oh well, Dad will take care of it”. She ended up being pretty unlikeable.

John is another major character. Sadly, we do not learn much about him, or his motives. He acts aloof, cold, and doesn’t tell Peirce things “for her own good”. I hope we do find out more about him in the next few books because he could be a very interesting character if we are able to learn more about him.

The secondary characters are much better. I loved Pierce’s cousin Alex, and there was not enough of him in the book. He often seemed like the sane person in Pierce’s life. There is lingering questions about him that I curious about so I would be thrilled to see more of him. I also liked Kayla. She’s interesting, and seems like a true friend.

The mythology that is introduced closer to the end of the book is interesting, and I am quite looking forward to reading more about in the second book. I think it provides a good starting place for the next book. I think this may be better once fully part of the series, as I don’t think this one stands on it’s own.

I do enjoy Meg Cabot’s writing. She kept me turning the pages, and want to know more. The more I was wanting just didn’t come. This novel feels like a set up for the next books in the series. I feel that there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. It held my attention enough that I want to read the second book, and hope to learn more about these characters and the mythology.

In My Mailbox

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

I got a few books this week (mostly from the library.





For review

Everything We Ever Wanted by Sara Shepard (goodreads)

Thanks HarperCollins Canada (especially Shannon). I am going to be doing something exciting with this book in Oct, so look forward to that.

From the Library:

Frostbite by Richelle Mead (goodreads)
Ten Things We Did and Probably Shouldn't Have by Sarah Mlynowski(goodreads)

I am so behind in reading the Vampire Academy series. I am almost finished Frostbite and am loving it!

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!

Friday Hops!

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet new blogger friends. This weeks question is:

Q. In books like the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series the paranormal creature in question "comes out of the closet" and makes itself known to the world. Which mythical creature do you wish would come out of the closet, for real?

Vampires...all the way baby. I have always loved vampires. I would want them to be the hot, sexy kind though. It also wouldn't hurt if they didn't want to kill people.



Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy For Books. It's a great way to meet new people and friends around the blogworld!

Q. Non-book-related this week!! Do you have pets?

I do. I have an adorable cat named Aria. She loves books too...well to eat them anyways.



Happy weekend and Happy reading!

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay
Release Date – August 9, 2011
Publisher – Delacorte
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 304
My Rating- 9/10
Obtained - purchased

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

The most tragic love story in history . . .
Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

Do you remember reading Romeo and Juliet in high school? Most people I know don’t really like the play, I happen to love it. Stacey Jay’s novel promises to turn the familiar story on it’s head and twist it and it accomplishes exactly that.

The writing style is fast paced, engrossing and the story kept me guessing. The “paranormal” or “supernatural” aspect of the novel is well developed and explained. It is a unique element and I really enjoyed it.

There are a lot of twists in the novel, so even when you think you know what is going on something happens to change that. Things are often not what they seem, and people sometimes are not who you think they are.

There is a lot of action in this novel. The fight scenes are plentiful and action packed. Juliet can certainly hold her own. Fans of fast paced, intense reads will appreciate this aspect of the story.

The characters were my favourite thing. I really ended up caring for both Juliet and Romeo for different reasons.

Juliet in this novel is strong, smart, caring, and still angry as a result of Romeo’s betrayal. She is an Ambassador of Light and is sent to protect the souls of soul mates from The Mercenaries (whom are represented by Romeo). She is often hard on herself as she doesn’t feel she had the “qualities” an Ambassador of Light is supposed to possess. I love that when she falls in love with someone who is “forbidden” to her that she is willing to sacrifice her happiness to save that person. She really does want to help Ariel have a better life when she is finished her mission. She is an interesting character and I am looking forward to seeing more of her in the second novel.

The other main character is Romeo. Oh Romeo, Romeo Wherefore art thou Romeo? The Romeo we know from Shakespeare’s play is nowhere to be found. He’s cocky, arrogant, and flat out mean most of the time. There is a more gentle nature underneath and sometimes you can almost see that he did love Juliet at one point. His character arc and development is the most dramatic in the story. I really enjoyed guessing what his motives might be and figuring out how much was truth and what was lies. I can not wait to find out what is next for him in Romeo Redeemed. He captivated me, and I looked forward to his parts of the story (I wonder what that says about me?). I had a hard time liking the love interest because I was so invested in Romeo.

Stacey Jay has created something really unique and captivating. You if love Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet you’ll appreciate this twist on the classic story, and if you didn’t care for the play you’ll appreciate it because it’s so different. Pick this one up, it’ll surprise you!

Waiting on Wednesday - Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Isle of Night by Veronica Wolff

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Is life offering fewer and fewer options? Then join the dead.

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she's whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she's determined to do so, because to fail doesn't mean dishonor-it means death.

This is being called The Hunger Games meets Vampire Academy. It certainly sounds unique, and I hope it's as good as it sounds!

Expected release date - September 6, 2011