Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at The Breaking Spine.

Snow White and the Huntsman the movie.

I know Waiting On Wednesday is supposed to show case books we are waiting for, but I seriously cannot wait for this movie.

I love, love, love Chris Hemsworth. I swear, I'm border line stalker obsessed with him. Tune in next week for my movie review.

On a serious note...I'm sure this movie will be entertaining. Chris is so freaking hot a talented actor and I look forward to seeing what he brings to the movie.

Hits theaters June 1st.

Do you think he works out? 

Just Finished Reading...Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

My 30 second review~ Sequel to Divergent, and you must read Divergent first or you will be lost.  Tris is a dynamic character. Over all this is a very good book but not as good as  book one. (Are they ever?) I recommend the read.

If you have not read Divergent go do that now! It was one my favorite reads from 2011.

From Good reads~


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 thoughts~ Insurgent starts exactly where Divergent ends. The story is clearly written and easy to follow, if you can remember who every one is from book one. It has a pretty extensive list of characters and after about 75 pages I stopped to re-familiarize myself with Divergent. I don't know if it was because I listened to Divergent as an audio book and failed to pick up in the little things, or if there was just to much time in between the stories for me.  After reading Divergent to refresh the details, and there are a lot of them, I started Insurgent again. 


Veronica Roth has created an original world. I love the idea of the different factions (not in real life...just saying) and what defines them. In the first half of the book we get to explore two of the faction we did not get that much of in book one. I really enjoyed the first half of this book. The characters did everything I expected them to and the pacing was steady. Then came the second half.


Now I don't want to sound like I did not enjoy this book, because I really did, but the last half of the book didn't really do it for me. The conflict between characters seemed a little forced.


At times things seemed a bit disjointed. I would like to talk about it but if I tell you what I didn't like I'm afraid I would spoil it for you. (if you have read it, and want to know what I'm talking about see below) But in the end I trusted the author and kept going. After I read the ending it all tied together for us. I just wish it would have taken a little different journey.


I have become very attached to Tris and Tobias as a team and look forward to book three. 


As someone who avoids conflict, if I had to choose a faction, I would choose Amity. I love the idea of everyone getting along and having equal say in decisions. I wish I could be Dauntless, but I would never would have made it past day one. 


**********SPOILER ALERT!  IF YOU HAVE NOT READ INSURGENT STOP HERE**********


Now I know conflict drives the plot, but I didn't buy some of it. The disagreements between Tris and Tobias seemed forced to me. Yes I understand Tris kept a secret from Tobias, and he felt she should trust him more, but to ignore her like he did didn't seem to fit his character. Despite his fears he is a strong character. That whole section made me think his character was overly sensitive and that is not what I get from him. Plus it went on for so long. I like them better as team.


I also felt there were way to many simulations. Like when Tris was held prisoner. I think we needed to know she was going through them, but to me it got old going through them with her. I can see why the author did it. Characters need to be tortured in some form or another and we got to see a different side to Peter at the end of it, but it got kind of old. 

Book Recommendation...Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore

My thoughts~

Fire is a companion novel to the Graceling series. I listened to  Graceling a couple years ago. Even though I loved it I remember very little about. That being said, even though there are a few cross over characters, you would not have to read the other books to understand or enjoy Fire. The stories are in the same world, but far enough apart where they do not depend on each other.

Fire has some of the best developed characters I've read in a long time. The character growth unfolds beautifully across the pages. This is an excellent example of how a character should evolve over the course of a story.

The book started a little slow for me. By page 100 I was fully vested. From there the plot flowed at a steady pace and I was hooked. Kristin is a talented writer and really draws you into the one of a kind world she created.

This fantasy story is Young Adult, but I would say it should be read by mature or older teens as there is sexual content. It is not graphic, but there are small portions that deal with teen pregnancy, rape, and the sexual relationship between the characters is very casual. Like I said, no graphic details, but the content is there all the same.

Fantasy's are my true passion, but I have spent the better part of the last year avoiding them. The reason being is my current work in progress is a fantasy. When crafting my fantasy world I did not want to be influenced by others work. I wanted my world to be as original as possible. The best way for me to do that was not to read books in my genre. Now that my manuscript is near completion my world is set in stone. I can finally get back to my true love and the reason I started writing in the first place.

From Goodreads~

She is the last of her kind...

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.

Exquisitely romantic, this companion to the highly praised Graceling has an entirely new cast of characters, save for one person who plays a pivotal role in both books. You don’t need to have read Graceling to love Fire. But if you haven’t, you’ll be dying to read it next.


Over all I recommend this book. It is well written, well developed and an enjoyable read.

My Book Haul

Okay, so I really wish I could figure out how to pick a different picture. I'm calling it my, "Better to see you with my dear." For some reason when the camera turns on I feel the need to make big eyes. Someday I'll make a montage of the deleted scenes and set it to Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell.

Books featured~

The Last Echo
Destined
Insurgent
Scent of a White Rose
Fire
Bitterblue
The City of Lost Souls

plus~
Miss Me jeans and my new Avengers tumbler.

Book Recommendation...The Last Echo

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Book 3 of 4

From Goodreads

In the end, all that's left is an echo...
Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet's talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it's Violet's job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by "the girlfriend collector" she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new "relationship" and Violet may have caught his eye...

 The Body Finder series is one of my all time favorites and there is a lot I like about this book.

First, Violet is a strong, independent young woman. So often there is a super swoon worthy boy that keeps me interested, but in The Last Echo the romance takes a back seat to the over all plot. This story is about Violets journey as she uses her unique ability to help track down a killer, juggle her school life and friends, and in the mean time try to keep her caring parents satisfied while convincing them she is safe.

The Body Finder is a fantastic book but Kimberly really hit it out of the park with The Last Echo. We get alternating chapters from the killers point of view. They are a plus 10 on the "this is creeping me out" scale. I actually got the shivers when I read them. All the character's are well developed but being in his head is kind of fun. He actually thinks what he is doing is okay and it shows on the page.

Even though the romance is not the main focus it still makes an impact. Jay of course is the perfect boyfriend, and any girl would be lucky to have him. But mysterious Rafe is who grabbed my attention. We meet him in book two, but don't really get to know him until now. We get to learn his past and what makes him who is today, but I have a feeling there is more to come.

The Last Echo is the perfect combination of mystery, paranormal and romance. I recommend reading this book.