Waiting on Wednesday #31: Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young

This is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, spotlighting upcoming releases that we're anticipating.

Title: Just Like Fate

Author: Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young
Release Date: August 27th, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)

Pages: 304
   

Caroline is at a crossroads. Her grandmother is sick, maybe dying. Like the rest of her family, Caroline's been at Gram's bedside since her stroke. With the pressure building, all Caroline wants to do is escape--both her family and the reality of Gram's failing health. So when Caroline's best friend offers to take her to a party one fateful Friday night, she must choose: stay by Gram's side, or go to the party and live her life.

The consequence of this one decision will split Caroline's fate into two separate paths--and she's about to live them both.

Friendships are tested and family drama hits an all-new high as Caroline attempts to rebuild old relationships, and even make a few new ones. If she stays, her longtime crush, Joel, might finally notice her, but if she goes, Chris, the charming college boy, might prove to be everything she's ever wanted.

Though there are two distinct ways for her fate to unfold, there is only one happy ending... Goodreads

Okay, after Pivot Point and Parallel this year I found out a sub-genre that I totally adore: alternate/parallel universes. When I saw this on Edelweiss, without even having heard anyone else's opinion on it, I immediately knew I had to have it. By some miracle I was approved. I just can't wait to read it guys! Seriously.

Read more »

Top Ten Tuesday #16: Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List

This is a meme from The Broke and the Bookish. For info about the topics and how to participate, click here.

Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List

Looking back at my TTT for my Spring TBR list... I think I did rather okay. I ended up having 12 books on that list, and I read 8 of them! Let's ignore how I still haven't read Days of Blood and Starlight *cough*. I also made the conscious decision it was better for me to ditch the Delirium series, since it wouldn't make me happy. SO. I'm proud of myself, considering what a mood reader I am. Now time for SUMMER.

1. The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

I finally pre-ordered this last Sunday. You don't even know guys. I can't wait. I must have this. As soon as it gets in, I'll probably put down whatever I'm reading at the time because this has priority. With the early reviews also glowingly positive, the wait is just killing me.

2. All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

I can't even guys. TIME TRAVEL. The first bloggers are reading this now and only have really awesome things to say. Since I'm participating in the blog tour, I get to read it early too. Sadly my review won't post until September, but I'll make sure to squeeze it in soon.

3. Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I can't believe this is finally coming out in August. It feels like it's been forever since Opal, though it hasn't even been a year. Considering that asdfjkl; killer cliffhanger too... Ugh. I need it already. Maybe I'll reread the first three to prepare myself for the undoubtedly awesome Origin.

4. Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young

I can't wait to read this, so it's a good thing I have an e-galley of it. Parallel universes guys. Possibly my new favorite subgenre. And though I haven't read anything by Cat Patrick or Suzanne Young before, both of them have such great reputations that I'm sufficiently pumped.

5. After Eden by Helen Douglas

I should be reading this in the coming week! I'm a bit skeptical about it because from the blurb it seems like it will be really romance centered, and hopefully it won't resort to Ink-like stalker tendencies. But TIME TRAVEL. asdfjkl; I hope it manages to be awesome.

6. Altered by Jennifer Rush

This book comes with the highest recommendations from my bookish twin, Amber. She's been raving about it. So I decided it would be my first read for the debut-a-thon next week! Apparently I should prepare myself for really hot boys? :)

7. Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

I'm planning on reading this for the debut-a-thon as well. If you've been around the blogosphere, you know this has gotten crazy positive reviews. The only reason for my hesitance has been that people said it's kind of really creepy. So I'll be reading it during the day. In the sunlight. Yep.

8. A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

After completely falling in love with The DUFF, I knew I had to check out Kody Keplinger's other books as well. Quite a few people seem to think A Midsummer's Nightmare is even better than The DUFF, which I didn't think was possible. It sounds awesome though, so I can't wait to read it.

9. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

This has gotten pretty mixed reviews, but I'm still extremely curious. It just sounds so awesome, and not only because of the pretty book trailer. I really hope it's not going to be a case of cover fraud, because that cover totally made me buy this book. Anyway, yay middle grade fantasy!

10. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

If you know me at all, guys... you've probably heard me saying, "EW VAMPIRES NO." But now... Amber and Judith have teamed up and are forcing me. Since Judith is lending me her copy, I will definitely be reading it. We'll see how this goes. I'm kind of terrified guys, help.

Let's Talk!

So... what do you think of my list? Which books are on yours?

Let me know in the comments!

Read more »

Book Review: Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

Release Date: October 30th, 2012

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillan)

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance
Series: Ruby Red Trilogy (#2 of 3)
Pages: 322
   

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out. Goodreads

4 Oranges

All throughout this book I thought it was so much fun and qualitatively great. Then halfway through the epilogue I thought, "Wait... what did happen here?" I was reading at such a high speed, desperate to have more more more that it almost didn't occur to me that this book suffers from a massive case of middle book syndrome. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it a lot. But there is also a sense of disappointment.

The problem here with the middle book syndrome is that, while things certainly did happen in this book and there were still time traveling adventures to the 18th century (and the 1950's), the questions raised by the mystery and the prophecies set up in the first book all frustratingly go unanswered. In fact, the only few answers we did get in this book were actually so obvious it would have been weird if you hadn't worked it out for yourself yet. And sure, events transpire which will eventually lead the main characters to the answers, but that's all left for the next, and final, book. So in terms of plot progression, this is a bit of a let down.

But so what did happen in this book? Gwen still struggles with figuring out who she can trust, and there is a much heavier focus on the romance. And you know what? For once, I didn't mind it one bit. I love Gideon and Gwen. I don't know why. Because for all intents and purposes, elements of their romance would annoy me in other couples: Gideon's hot-cold attitude, Gwen's tendency to think about him just a bit too much, a quick jump to saying I love you... But I didn't mind any of it! Maybe it was just more well developed than other cases. Or maybe their chemistry just wipes clean any problems I would have with it. But I really liked how their romance coincided brilliantly with the rest of the story, and their trust issues with each other. The trust issues were well represented and made the romance much more compelling.

I just have to say that I love the characters. Not only is Gwen kick-ass awesome with her sassy attitude, and Gideon super hot and dreamy, but the secondary characters are great as well. Lesley, Gwen's best friend, is the perfect side-kick. I love how close they are and how they can truly rely on each other. No bitchy best friend here - that has me cheering. And this book also introduced the awesome Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who only Gwen can see. He's hilarious and I love how he works together with Gwen, feeding her information when she's at her wit's end.

So while this lacked in plot progression, it was a great, fun read. It's compulsively readable, light, and fun. The characters are great, and the dialogue is awesome. Time traveling remains awesome. I can also note that where the first book, Ruby Red, read a bit clunky due to translation issues, I didn't pick up on any of those here, so there's a marked improvement on that count as well.

Summing Up...

I'm seriously in love with this series, even though I'll happily admit it's not the best. It has quite a few issues. I just can't quite articulate why it's so precious to me. I dunno. But with the awesome heroine, Gwen, amazing hottie, Gideon, their addictive romance, and the adventures through the 18th century? I'll keep on reading. It seriously pains me that the English translation of the last installment won't come out until October. I want it. Now.

GIF it to me straight!

It was a fun adventure but not nearly enough.

Recommended To...

Fans of time travel and swoon-worthy boys.

Read more »

Book Nerd Problems #12: Reading Schedules

This is a periodic discussion feature here at Snuggly Oranges about the many problems one can run into as a book nerd.

#12. Reading Schedules

I don't know about you guys but... I suck at making reading schedules. Over the past few months, I have tried, on two separate occasions, to make such a schedule for myself, just listing in order which books I would read and by when. I failed. Why?

1. I couldn't stick to the schedule timing in the first place.

Due to the business of real life, with projects, exams, drama, etc. I just couldn't find the time, plain and simple, to really get myself to read two books per week. I really wanted to reach that goal. Two books a week isn't too much - especially in YA, where you can find plenty of books of around 300 pages. But when it gets busy or dramatic, maybe I don't want to read. Maybe I just want to sleep. Maybe I just want to be a couch potato and watch TV.

In that case, making a schedule stresses me out. I feel like a failure if I don't read two books a week. But this needs to remain a hobby, and not a job. Why am I stressing myself out like this? Most likely, the only person disappointed if I don't post two reviews a week is me anyway.

2. Confession time: I am a mood reader.

Both times I tried to make this reading schedule, I made the whole order of the books I was going to read as well. I think, both times, I changed that order by the second book. I'm such a mood reader that an order just doesn't make sense. If I want something light and fun, and the next book on the list is dark and heavy, there's no way that's going to work. After all, if I force myself to read it anyway, I'll dislike it and give it a more negative review than warranted. Sorry not sorry. If I'm not in the mood for it, I won't connect with it, and that will keep me from posting a glowing, positive review.

But I don't think that's fair to the book, or the author either. So I shouldn't force myself to read a book I'm not in the mood for. I don't want to be a Negative Nancy or a Debby Downer (ha!). It's good to be self-aware like this. So. No reading schedule for me.

What do I do now?

I've abandoned a reading schedule, except for ARCs. ARCs, of course, have to be scheduled in. But since I don't get too many of those, I can usually find a time for it when I'm in the right mood. However, I can't imagine what it would be like if I had stacks of ARCs including unsolicited ones that I may have no interest in reading in the first place. Sorry for all of you that do. It kind of sounds like my worst nightmare.

I do like giving some books priority though, in a structured way. So on Goodreads I have a to-read-soon shelf which I limit to 10 books that I want to queue up next. But the order on that is flexible, which allows me to choose one that suits my mood. It at least reminds me of the books I was most excited to read. I also have a shelf of must-read-soon, since I'm OCD like that. That's a larger shelf, aimed more to the long term, from which I select my to-read-soon books. You follow this?

As to the two books a week, I still kind of aim for that, but not in a fixed schedule, just to give myself more breathing room. If I don't make it, I don't make it. And I can deal with that.

Let's Talk!

Enough of my opinion, what about you?
Do you have a reading schedule or not?
Is it hard to stick to it? Or are you a mood reader like me?

Let me know in the comments!

Read more »

Book Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Release Date: May 10th, 2011

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillan)

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance
Series: Ruby Red Trilogy (#1 of 3)
Pages: 322
   

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust. Goodreads

4 Oranges

I really enjoyed reading Ruby Red. It was entertaining, fun, rather unique... but ultimately? Too short. I wasn't ready for the adventure to end. So maybe the biggest problem with Ruby Red is that I want to move on to the sequel right away. You know. If you can call that a problem.

I love this concept. Time travel is carried in genes and uncontrolled by nature. So Gwen just randomly gets sucked into the past for a half hour and then goes back. I love it so much. This is actually my first time travel novel, though, so perhaps I'm easily impressed. But I liked how this was tied to a prophecy and a mysterious secret society, bound by strict time travel rules... it's just so interesting, I kept reading until I was done. I couldn't stop myself. So compulsively readable? Check.

Gwen as a main character rather impressed me. She's not really the strong female character, but she's so realistic, and I loved that. I mean, she's been kept in the dark about the ins and outs of time travel and the prophecy all her life and then out of nowhere gets sucked into the past. Her shock, fears, and disbelief are really understandable and make her quite the endearing character. She also shows she can be brave when it's necessary, and I'm excited about the small ways in which her character already grew in this novel and will likely keep doing so in the rest of the series. I loved her sass as well.

I have a new book boyfriend and his name is Gideon. I just love him. He totally pulls the cocky, arrogant attitude off at the beginning, but as he travels with Gwen, he sees that he needs to be more supportive of her. And he totally pulls that off as well. He can be so freaking sweet.

I'm a bit on the fence about the romance to be honest. I absolutely loved it at the beginning, because it was clearly a love-hate relationship. I giggled like a mad woman every time Gwen thought about what a dick Gideon was. However, it was overly obvious that she felt more for him, just by how she got jealous when he was talking to other girls and checked to see if she had impressed him at times. I wish it had transitioned a little more slowly. That would have made it ultimately more endearing. So while I was a bit frustrated with the ending, I kind of loved it as well. The preview for the next book in any case does indicate it's not going to be all super mushy lovey dovey stuff, so that's good. If it is... well, we'll see that when it happens.

But as I stated up front, this book is too short. Maybe it only feels that way because I blazed through it at such a high speed. However, I really feel like very little concrete happened. I mean, we're teased with all these mysteries and prophecies, and in this book, almost nothing is revealed about that. It takes almost half the novel (I believe) before Gwen actually admits to her family that she's the one who has time traveled. It's odd. I wouldn't say it was slow in the beginning, but I guess that could have been condensed a bit. So while I loved reading about the time traveling, about this world and their families, I felt teased. It almost felt like this was a prequel, and the next book would be the true beginning. I dunno. I'm weird. This might just be me.

There is one other small negative thing to mention. I know that this is a translation from the original German book, but it really could have used another editing round. I couldn't help but get distracted by some of the mistakes. Some of it read as really clunky, and not just because they tried to emulate British English.

Summing Up...

This book makes me really excited about not only the series as a whole, but also about the time travel genre. I've been staying away from it for far too long, that much is obvious. I loved the characters and the concept, and my biggest problem is just that I want more. So I may just continue on to Sapphire Blue right away. (Anyone else always think of Pokémon when writing these titles, btw?) In any case, I'm going to go watch the movie now!

GIF it to me straight!

The Doctor dances because time travel makes him happy.

Recommended To...

Fans of time travel and swoon-worthy boys.

Bonus Round!

I need your help, loyal followers. Because this series confuses me. ...With its gorgeous covers. You see, I was first totally enthralled with the girl-in-a-dress cover, because, though cliché, it is just stunning. But now I think I'm more fond of the original hardback covers. I can't decide, so... COVER BATTLE TIME! (Click to enlarge the images!)

vs.

I feel like I have to pick between the two but it's impossible. Can we just say that both designs are absolutely stunning??? Anyway, which would you rather have on your shelf?

Let me know in the comments!

Read more »

Waiting on Wednesday #30: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

This is a weekly meme, hosted at Breaking the Spine, spotlighting upcoming releases that we're anticipating.

Title: All Our Yesterdays

Author: Cristin Terrill
Release Date: September 3rd, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Series: All Our Yesterdays (#1 of 2)

Pages: 368
   

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice. Goodreads

I wanted this so bad guys. I was rejected for it on NetGalley, but yeah, Disney Hyperion is apparently super picky. Then I kept seeing it in everybody's book hauls from BEA... It was seriously painful. *sniff* But JOKE'S ON YOU, because I just got accepted to the blog tour for this one, so I get to read it early too! *bounces*

Read more »