If you were wondering

 What's been on my bookshelf recently.....

 1. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

This one had a high recommendation from Cassandra Clare ( one of my fav. writers) so I figured I would give it a try. It's about a guy who hunts killer ghosts. It's alright...wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, but wasn't horrible either. I wasn't a fan of the language...if Katniss didn't cuss while being hunted by kids then you shouldn't have to either. It would be a really great book to read when cuddled up at night and looking for a good ghost story though. The love story is ok, but there is a second book in the Anna series that sounds like it might be more interesting and a little more of what I like so I'm really excited to get to reading it. Overall though, pretty good book.



2. Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

I grabbed this one while browsing the young adult books and sadly it was pretty disappointing. It's based on the movie that came out with the same name ( which I did not see ) and while I did not guess right away who the wolf was, it wasn't that much of a surprise either. I felt the book to be very rushed in the fact that nothing was really suspenseful and built up and it was also very boring. PLUS you have to go online to read the end. I am not even kidding. You will never know the end if you don't, it's not included in the book at all. I do not recommend this one folks.




3. You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark

I love my girl Celia. If I could have a pocket large enough to put her, Nate Burkas, and Jenny Lawson into it and carry them around all day I would. Her other books like stop dressing your six-year-old like a skank is pure amazingness. She is a great, funny southern writer, but I did not like this book. There were only about two chapters that made me laugh and in a whole book...that's really not good. Overall it sort of came off as just angry, I wasn't a fan. I do still love her though so go out and read her other books.






4. Girl of Nightmares ( Anna book 2 ) by Kendare Blake

Alright so I did end up having enough time to read this one, the second in the "Anna" series and it was alright. I didn't like how it ended, but what can ya do. I finished it really quick and she did a good job of keeping you interested, but I just really felt there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end. Like I said though, decent ghost story to curl up with and read at night.







5. Gone by Michael Grant

I grabbed this one on a whim, and was pretty excited to read it because it's a series and it seemed like a pretty original idea. In this California town everyone 15 years or older just vanishes, poof, gone. While this seemed intriguing, the first few chapters continually brought up abandoned babies, and little ones starving and dying. To be honest with you....I couldn't keep reading. I just couldn't. Sorry. It might be a decent series if you get past that, and yea...I know it's all pretend, but I just couldn't keep reading. Sorry.

Reading List Update

Well, I have been off work for a few days in a row and munchkin has been fairly cooperative so I got a lot of reading done this past week. Here is my updated list from my original Current Reading List Post:

First up: Matched by Ally Condie
I honestly didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would. The story itself is so similar to other dystopian books that I felt myself constantly comparing them and this one wasn't as great. The love triangle wasn't that interesting, it was apparent after a few chapters who she was going to want and the other guy ended up being almost non-existent therefore taking away the love triangle altogether. I also didn't really like the main character Cassia...I felt at times she was a little annoying which is rare of me to say for a character. The ending was a little interesting though,and with all that said I'll probably still buy the next book in the series: Crossed just to see where she takes the story and if it becomes more interesting.

Second: Divergent by Veronica Roth
This book was the other dystopian book that was centered around virtues. I liked the concept, and I thought it was fairly original though there were a few times when it reminded me of certain other books. The main character Beatrice is likable and you find yourself figuring things out with her. There is a small love plot in the story which is interesting enough but as the story goes on you slowly find yourself becoming more and more wrapped up in her world. The end was awesome. In fact the end was so great that I went ahead and bought the second book in the series which brings us to....

Third: Insurgent by Veronica Roth ( Divergent Series # 2)
This book was amazing. I fell more in love with the series as I read this book. There are so many twists and turns that I had a hard time putting it down. Beatrice becomes so much more of a powerful character that you instantly are cheering for her, and when hear heart breaks yours does too. You start to get more involved in this world and all of the traits that rule it. It also brings up a few questions concerning people and how we view ourselves and relate with others. The ending was so unbelievable that almost the instant I finished the book I got online to Veronica Roth's Website to find out when the next book will be available ( sadly not until fall 2013). Amazon also has a mini video preview of the book and its pretty cool to watch before you read. I don't know if they plan on making this into a movie but seriously...they should.


Fourth: Betrayal ( Descendants #1) by Mayandree Michel
This was a .99 cent book that I saw while browsing books related to Percy Jackson. This book surprised me with how much I liked it. I love anything to do with greek or roman mythology so as the story went on I started to fall more and more in love with it. The characters were interesting and I really liked the main character Cordelia.You start to piece her world together as she does plus it goes through some twists and turns.When the end comes it completely knocks your socks off. The love plot that comes out at the end was enough to make me buy the second book....




Fifth: Sacrifice ( The Descendants #2) by Mayandree Michel
This one was .99 cents just like the former, and I have never hated a book this much. It frustrated me how she made such an amazing first book with these complex characters and then turn them into boring one-dimensional people who just repeat the same things over and over. The love story was pretty much given away within the first few chapters and it went downhill from there. The editing was absolutely horrid, and it honestly felt like she was pressured to get a second book out there so she just threw this one together. I was really, really unhappy with it.

My Current Reading List

I decided now would be a pretty good time to share some of the books on my reading radar. If you are familiar with my past posts you know I have a unhealthy awesome love of Young Adult Fiction books which is what most of these are, but there are some other "adult" books that you might find interesting. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare were flippin awesome by the way!

The first book is the one I am currently reading : Matched by Ally Condie. I'm not very far in it so I'm not quite sure if I like it or not. It sort of  reminds me of a cross between The Giver by Louis Lowry ( flashback to fifth grade lol) and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Pretty interesting sounding book with a nice little love triangle.






The second one is another dystopian book but this time society is separated and based on a set of virtues such as the brave, the peaceful, the honest etc. It seemed like an interesting read. It is called Divergent by Veronica Roth





The third is Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. This lady led an extraordinary life filled with things that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat reading.



The Fourth is The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. This sounds like something along the lines of Rick Riordan and came recommended by a family member so I figured I would give it a shot.








The fifth and final book is simply a must read if you like the show Parks & Rec. The amazon sample alone made tears come to my eyes laughing. So without further ado: Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America by Leslie Knope. 









There it is folks, five books that sound pretty awesome and are definitely on my reading list. Hope you can find one or two that strike your fancy so tell your chores and dishes I apologize and your library I said your welcome.