REVIEW: Sweet Venom

Title: Sweet Venom
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Series: Medusa Girls
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Publisher: Katharine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Format: Hardback
# of pages: 345
Source: Library
Challenge: n/a
Links: goodreads

Summary:
(from Goodreads)
Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Review:
School has been keeping me busy!  When I did have time to read, I've been reading this book and it was so hard to put it down when I needed to!

Sweet Venom started out a bit slow for me, but after Gretchen and Grace met, it started to move a lot quicker and the story got more interesting.  I have been interested in Greek mythology since 7th grade, I think, which is why this caught my attention.  Another reason this caught my attention is the different view on Medusa than the norm.  Though I really like Greek mythology, I haven't read many modern novels based on Greek mythology, so I don't really have anything to compare to.  But in my opinion, this is a very unique plot, especially with the aspect that Medusa was good and Athena was jealous of her.

The plot was interesting, but I think it was the characters that really made the book great for me.  Gretchen is a badass girl who has issues with touchy-feely stuff until she meets Grace and Nick, who she really doesn't want to like.  Grace is a shy, nice, happy girl who cares a lot about others, and she's the one I relate to most.  Then there's the last triplet that we meet, Greer.  She seems very stuck up, but that was how she was raised, and she eventually redeems herself.  I'm glad the main characters are different and have their own personalities, but are still able to come together and work well with each other.  I also liked being able to hear from each of their points of view.

And then there are the side characters!  Grace's brother, Thane, and her counselor, Ms. West, as well as Gretchen's classmate, Nick, are SO mysterious.  They just add so much to the story with their mysteriousness!  I'm pretty sure Nick knows Gretchen's secret...but I just don't know how he knows.  I suppose that's what the sequel is for.  Also, we never did find out who Medusa's sister is in modern day form, so that's another thing to look forward to in the sequel.  So many questions (that I will list below and will contain spoilers, so don't scroll all the way if you haven't read Sweet Venom yet and don't want it spoiled)!!

Gah~!  At the end of this book, I was left with wanting to know more!  There are just too many questions running through my head.  Tera Lynn Childs has definitely hooked me!  I can't wait for the next book!

Rating:
Plot:
Characters:
Ending:
Overall:

!! SPOILER ALERT !!


Questions I Hope Are Answered in Book 2:
- Where did Thane go?
- Does Nick know what Gretchen does?
- How did Nick get Gretchen's number?
- Was Nick the one who called to warn Gretchen to get out?
- Who captured Ursula?
- Who put the bounty on the huntresses' heads, for that matter?
- Is Grace right about Ms. West being Sthenno?
- What does Milo know, if anything?

Like I said, so many questions!  Can't wait for Sweet Shadows to come out later this year!

Library Loot (01)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. 

Sorry for not posting in a while! There's just something about the month of May that makes me a bit lazy. It's like an awkward time, where school's about to end and you've got projects piling up that need to be done and studying for finals starts, but all you can think about is that summer is almost here. Also, the weather doesn't help, because it's getting warmer, making me think of summer even more. Oh, those lazy summer days~ I cannot wait! I need a break. And I want to get really working on my TBR pile!

Anyway, for this past week, I only have books I checked out from the library so I thought I'd do my first ever Library Loot!

What's your loot this week?

Read the Month: mi B-E-A-L-T-A-I-N-E (Irish Edition)

Read the Month Irish Edition
mi B-E-A-L-T-A-I-N-E (May)
Duration: May 1, 2012 - May 31, 2012


Completed: 0/9


B
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A
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A
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To be updated with books as I read them...Didn't have time to pick them out ahead of time!  And wow "MAY" is long in Irish!  Not used to it, haha.  I also can't believe it's May already!  Time is just flying by...and I'm excited it's almost summer.  :D


And I saw this at Parajunkee's site, and really liked them, so I wanted to post them somewhere on my blog!

Until next time~

ARC REVIEW: The Summer My Life Began

Title: The Summer My Life Began
Author: Shannon Greenland
Release Date: May 10, 2012
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Speak (Penguin group)
Format: e-book
# of pages: n/a
Source: Netgalley
Challenge: 24 Hour Readathon

Summary:
(from Netgalley)

This is what seventeen-year-old Em gets when she goes to spend a month at her aunt’s island resort. It’s a dream come true—and exactly the break Em needed from her strict family and their high expectations of her. But when Em uncovers a long-buried secret about her family, everything changes. And suddenly, Em finds herself making some big choices about her future—choices she never dreamed she’d have the chance to make . . .

Review:
The Summer My Life Began is a cute, fast read.  Perfect for the beach!  Really, there isn't too much depth in this one.  A lot of it is quite predictable, like the thing at the end with the paintings.  But I was a little caught off guard with the family secret.  I was thinking too much and thought of several of other possibilities...So that was a surprise!

This story was basically about our narrator, Em, finding herself, or at least realizing that she doesn't want to follow the plan that has been set out for her her whole life.  And also about her finding out the family secret, I guess.  I mean, I enjoyed reading about her time at The Pepper House and her enthusiasm for cooking, it just felt quite rushed.  And because of that, we didn't get to totally see the depths of our characters and their emotions.  Also, there were quite a few characters that were thrown in there that I thought would mean something,  but they didn't really add to the story.  Like Jeremy.  That little storyline was kinda pointless to me...I know he was supposed to be a part of the love triangle, but that didn't really work since she hardly showed any interest in him after that first meeting.  So, it didn't add anything to the story for me.

And that leads to my issue with the main relationship that we all see coming from the beginning.  I felt no chemistry between her and Cade at all.  They had a rocky start and hardly talked in the beginning.  After they started kind of having friendly conversations, she picked an argument with him really for no reason, and then mooned after him when he didn't speak to her for a week afterwards.  A few kisses and everything was better.  To me, their relationship was purely physical.  I have no idea where the emotional connection came from...since there was a lot of telling, but not much showing.  And this "telling, but not showing" thing was a major thing in the story that kept me from connecting with the characters, so I was just pretty whatevs towards them.

Anyway, the setting sounded absolutely gorgeous and like somewhere I'd love to vacation at.  I think B&B's are cute, even though I've never been to one, and The Pepper House sounded like a great place!  The only thing I found odd was that Tilly would leave her door open while she wasn't in her room, and was out and about working.  For some reason, I thought she would maybe lock it for privacy...?  But again, I've never been to a B&B, so maybe it's common.  And also, maybe it's different in the laid back Outer Banks, where they don't have to worry about that stuff?  I mean, that didn't affect the enjoyment in reading this.  I just found it curious.

So overall, this book was nice.  It's a great read for a lazy day, when you don't want to think too much.

Rating:
Plot:
Characters:
Ending:
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Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: The End!

I really wanted to try and make it to the end, but at 3:30 AM, I am beginning to crash.  This has been fun, even though I did take time to get settled.  In the end, I did finish up a book!  And started several other ones...before settling into the book that I got done, haha.  This was great fun, reading and participating.  I didn't get to visit much though. :(  I am going to try and get around to a bunch of the participating blogs tomorrow.  The Readathon will be over, but it'll still be fun to peek in on other blogs. :)

And I've learned for next time...I really need a set plan, haha.  So, see you at the next one!  Good night!

ETA--

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
   I'm not sure the exact hour, but I think probably the hours when I couldn't get situated...where I kept getting distracted by other things not related to the Readathon.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
   I didn't read this during the Readathon, but really liked them when I did read them, so: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, and manga.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
   Not really.  It was my first time, and it was a great experience.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   I really liked the variety of mini-challenges.
5. How many books did you read?
   Only finished 1, but I had started on 3.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
   The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland, Entwined by Heather Dixon, and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
   Romancing Mr. Bridgerton.  It's one of my top favorites. <3
8. Which did you enjoy least?
   I didn't get too far into Entwined to form an opinion, and The Summer My Life Began was okay.  So I guess I'd say I'm neutral, haha.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
   Wasn't a Cheerleader this time around...
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    I'm very likely to participate again!  Maybe I'll be a Cheerleader next time around, too. :]

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Checking In w/ Hour 16's Challenge!

So we're in HOUR 17 now, and I thought I'd check in.  I haven't finished a book yet, as I keep going from book to book.  This experience has taught me that I have a short attention span...lol.  Well, I was reading Entwined and it started off quite slow, so I kept losing interest...and this sounds like the start of a review...so I'll save that for later.  Anyway!

I'm also here to post my challenge entry for HOUR 16's mini-challenge: Rereading.  I have 4 books from Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series (though I love them all) and 1 from Lisa Kleypas' Wallflowers series that I can reread over and over again and they make me sigh with happiness.  These are:

Ta-ta for now!  See you in another few hours.  Hopefully I'll have a book done by then. ;P

 

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon: Starting Line...?

Soooo, this post is a bit late...because I woke up late...because I like sleep too much to wake up at 5 AM, which is when the Readathon started on my side of the world (Pacific coast).  So I ended up waking up at 10 AM instead, and then I got distracted and started reading a book that wasn't on my Readathon pile, lol.  But anyway, now I'm reading Entwined, which is on my Readathon pile.  So I'm kind of on track now, and I thought I'd do a blog post to just say "hey!"

I've also done the introduction from Hour 1:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Los Angeles, CA. Bright and sunny today!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Entwined! The cover looks so pretty, and story sounds interesting.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Brownies…Mmm, yum.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Besides being a book geek, I loooove makeup, especially nail polish. I have an ever-growing collection of nail polish, and I love them all!
 5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? It’s my first one and I’m looking forward to everything!

I'll probably post every now and then, participating in challenges, and also stopping by at other participants.  See you around!  Happy reading! :]

 

April 2012 Readathon Pile!

The Readathon is just hours away!  Here's my book pile for it:

I think this is quite ambitious, for a 24 hour period, but hopefully I'll be able to get to all of them! :]

My plan is to wake up by 5 AM, since that's when it starts for me, here in LA (let's see if I actually wake up, lol).  And then read continuously through they day, with a few breaks in between for, you know, eating and just so I don't go cross-eyed. :P

BTW, I got rid of Disqus.  It was just not working properly, with comments showing up only sometimes.  So back to regular blogger comments.  But that's okay, because blogger let's you reply now!  Am I the last one to know that blogger added that? lol

REVIEW: Bumped

Title: Bumped
Author: Megan McCafferty
Series: Bumped
Genre: YA
Publisher: Balzar + Bray, HarperCollins
Format: Kindle e-book
# of pages: 324
Source: bought from Amazon
Challenge: Read the Month (April)

Summary:
(from Amazon)

When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Review:
This book totally sucked me in!  Okay, so I was pretty confused in the beginning, with all the slang, and just a bit frustrated, but in the end I couldn't put it down.  But let's start from the beginning...

When we begin the story, we are thrust right into our characters' lives.  Harmony, the religious twin, has come to the Otherside to "save" and "witness" her long lost twin Melody.  They live in a world where a virus has made almost everyone over the age of 18 infertile, so teenagers have become hot commodities, especially if you have excellent genes like Melody (and Harmony).  Surrogacy has been glorified and turned into a profession, with couples offering full college tuition, cars, and even liposuction to land a surrogacy contract.  Melody has one such contract and is just waiting for her RePro Rep to pair her up with the best of the best Sperm (a.k.a. a RePro).  Harmony obviously does not think this is okay, and decides to hijack Melody's life after she is mistaken for her.  But then she ends up falling for Melody's RePro, Jondoe.

I especially liked Melody's voice and character.  Melody is strong, beautiful, intelligent, and athletic, and is beginning to feel like she doesn't want to be the Surrogate that she was raised to be.  She doesn't have any enthusiasm for it, and what happened with her best friend Malia before, and what happened to her best friend Shoko this time around didn't help the matter.  Another best friend that didn't help boost her enthusiasm much?  Zen, who I also liked.  Though we don't ever get to hear his point of view, we learn enough through his interactions with both Melody and Harmony.  He isn't "reproaesthetical" due to being only 5' 7.5" even though he has all the other qualities.  He's smart and good looking, and also beginning to question what the world is turning into with Surrogacy becoming ever more popular.  And according to Melody, everyone likes him, and she's pretty much right...can't help but like Zen!  And then there's Harmony.  I don't know why, but I didn't like Harmony much.  She's written by the same author, and yet, I didn't like Harmony's character and was not pulled in by her voice quite as well as I was with Melody.  I didn't really care about her story, unless it related to Melody's story (like when Harmony stole Melody's "RePro" Jondoe).  Actually, she was kind of annoying.  Jondoe was not much better.

As for the story...I'm not one to actually analyze a book for it's underlying meanings, but this book is pretty obvious with the issues.  I mean, I think it's pretty obvious that it's a satire dealing with the sensitive issues of teen pregnancy and religion.  But I feel like it also deals with ever evolving technology creating a more big brother like presence, with people needing know everybody else's business ASAP. (Reminds me of that 4G commercial..."That was so 5 seconds ago...")  Overall, I think this is a topic that hasn't really been touched in this way before, so I found it interesting.  I feel like Megan McCafferty wrote it well.  I didn't always like reading what was written, mostly during Harmony's parts, but it was an interesting, easy read, and I recommend it!

Moments I Loved: Melody and Zen in the treehouse at the library.  I really hope they end up together in the sequel!!

WTF Moments: Most of Harmony's scenes.  Honestly, at times, I really thought she was certifiable.


Rating:
Plot - ★★★★
Characters - ★★★★
Ending - ★★★★
Overall: