Summer Love: Two Series to Obsess Over

I’m a sucker for novels with young love. First love is incomparable to anything else, which is why I love reading YA novels because it means I get to feel it over and over again. It’s a girl thing, I think. I’ve recently stumbled upon a couple of great series by Jennifer Armentrout, The Lux Series and The Covenant Series. I’ll save the summaries for later. What I’ll tell the potential readers now is that both series are so easy to get wrapped in, I don’t think you could ask for anything more. The characters are fun and easy to identify with and the love story…ah, it’s good!

On to the summaries-

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

—

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem–staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

—

There is need. And then there is Fate—

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn’t exactly awesome—especially when Alexandria’s “other half” is everywhere she goes. Seth’s in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom—so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do—and sacrifice—for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies—lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon— and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn’t blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude— or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone.

—

The cover art isn’t the best and I’ve also met better characters, but the read is fun and enjoyable and who doesn’t want that, especially for Summer?

Obsessing Over The Disenchantments

There is something about reading a novel and deciding it’s a favorite before you’ve even finished it. I love that feeling and it’s certainly something rare that comes about which is why I feel so compelled to share it in a blog post with you guys!

The book I’m obsessing over is The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour.

The prose in The Disenchantments is just amazing. It’s so simplistic and pure, it’s borderline poetic throughout most of the novel. I rave about it constantly so I had to rave about it here (and soon again in my review)!

But now I want to know, what book have you read recently that has made it to your favorites?

The Selection by Kiera Cass: A Review

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Published by HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date 04/24/2012

Source: ARC

 

 

Synopsis

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.-Goodreads

Review

Part dystopian and part reality show-like(think The Bachelor) Kiera Cass comes out of nowhere and creates an almost equal blend of dystopian and romance elements. America Singer is such a strong-willed heroine and a true beauty…you can’t help but to latch on to that first page and keep reading through the wee hours of the morning.

America’s character isn’t whiny (thank god) and yet isn’t too strong either. In dystopian novels, I get a bit leary of the heroine because a character that rarely shows any other emotion other that survival,etc. becomes too unrelatable and static. America is definitely strong-willed but she also lets some emotion seep through her seemingly tough skin. That’s what dystopian novels need and America is a good example of that.

I’m a sucker for a good love story and The Selection certainly has one…or two. The love triangle that ensues between America, Aspen, and Prince Maxon is quite typical for a little while but eventually goes off course into something a bit different, which I found to be totally unexpected and definitely a must. Aside from the love story aspect, the post WWIII take with the caste system adds a nice touch to an otherwise princess tale. The dystopian elements are there, but the princess/fairytale elements is the heavier of the two.

*A T.V. drama based on this trilogy is currently in the works. (Yeah, I’m probably going to watch it)

Overall: Readers who enjoy a good love story will cling to this one while those that are hoping for a more pure dystopian novel will be disappointed as it is an unequal blend of the two…at least for the first book in the trilogy.

My Rating: 3/5 for the book and 5/5 for the cover because it’s amazing!

The Birth of a Book: A Short Vignette

I recently stumbled across this video on Vimeo and desperately needed to share it. This video is most stunning and one of the most moving videos I’ve seen in awhile. Yes, I have a Nook and read my fair share of eBooks, but there is simply nothing like the printed page. Glen Milner, the talented director/editor that shot this video, does a superb job at showing how much hard work goes into printing each book and, more importantly, showing what a work of art each book truly is.

Please watch and enjoy the wonders of The Birth of a Book.

Give Glen Milner’s other work a look (or watch!) here.