{ Awesome Ebook Giveaway! }

During my book blog browsing today, I found THIS blog. Bree is having a 100+ followers giveaway and what a giveaway it is! If you are an ebook reader you should check it out and check out Bree's blog!

{ The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan }

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

March 2010 by Random House Childrens Books

Source: Library ebook

From Goodreads:

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She's content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches for the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier can not hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry's mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seem to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother's past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

My review:

Those of you who have read my review of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, will know how much I loved it. I was very excited to start this second installment. However, I was sadly disappointed. This book could almost be read as a stand alone. And had I not read the first one, I may have liked it more...or maybe not.

My biggest issue was with the main character, Gabry. Could there really be anyone with worse luck than this girl? Seriously? It just seemed that one disaster would happen and then, bang, another. Then another, and another. And as a result, she was constantly blaming herself and wining about everything! There was so much self-loathing in this story and not just from Gabry, but everyone. Maybe it just comes with the territory. When you are constantly looking death in the face, what else is there really? I found myself loathing everything along with them.

However, Carrie Ryan, redeemed herself during the last 100 pgs or so. Gabry finally finds herself and some inner strength. There was just more depth to the story on a whole towards the end. There were some pretty heartbreaking scenes and some terrifying ones in the end that made the closing of this one quite the page turner. The underlying message in the end? You have nothing without Hope and Love. They go hand in hand. And I have hope that the third book, The Dark and Hollow Places will live up to the first book. And rumour has it? It's even better than the first.

Rating: 3.5 stars

{ Teaser Tuesday - April 26, 2011 }

Teaser Tuesday is a week book meme hosted by Mizb over at Shouldbereading. Anyone can play along, just do the following:

* Grab your current read

* Open to a random page

* Share two(2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE SURE NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others.)

* Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add it to the TBR lists if they like your teaser!

My teaser:

I walk slowly through the room and my mother starts to follow me. I want her to be with me so badly but I feel as though I need to do this alone.

pg 240 - The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan - ebook version

What's your teaser this week?

{ It's Monday! What are you reading? }

It's Monday! What are you reading is a weekly book meme hosted by Sheila over at BookJourney. This is where participants share what they read last week, what they are currently reading and what is up next. Here is mine:

Finished last week:

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Currently reading:

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

Up next:

Heresy by S J Parris

City of Bones/City of Ashes/City of Glass by Cassandra Clare - this will be a re-read so that I can read City of Fallen Angels!!

What are you reading?

{ Incarceron by Catherine Fisher }

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Feb 2011 by Firebird

Source: Library paperback

From Goodreads:

Incarceron is a prison unlike any other: It's inmates live not only in cells, but also in metal forests, dilapidated cities, and unbounded wilderness. The prison has been sealed for centuries, and only one man, legend says, has ever escaped.

Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, can't remember his childhood and believes he came from Outside Incarceron. He's going to escape, even though most inmates don't believe that Outside exists. And then Finn finds a crystal key and through it, a girl names Claudia.

Claudia claims to live Outside - her father is the warden of Incarceron and shes doomed to an arranged marriage. If she helps Finn escape, she will need his help in return. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost far more than they know.

Because Incarceron is alive.

My review:

As I began this book, I found myself really drawn into this world created by Catherine Fisher. It was something new and exciting for me. This was really my first experience into the Steampunk genre...other than Clockwork Angel. But it really is more than just that. It reads like an epic Fantasy. You are drawn into this elaborate world of darkness and decay. Well actually two worlds. There is Finn's world within Incarceron and Claudia's world on the Outside.

I really enjoyed Claudia for most of the book. I found her to be a good strong female character. She is a strong willed individual who is kind of stuck in this life that she does not want. She is about to be married to a dim witted, womanizing, beast of a man whom she can not stand and is being forced into becoming the future Queen. In addition there is the threat of losing her tutor, Jared. Her best friend, her confident, her sanity really. I found Jared to be an interesting character, but I do hope to learn more of Jared's back story in the next book, perhaps.

Finn on the other hand is very interesting character. I quite liked him. Finn does not remember his childhood. He just was, inside Incarceron. Finn believes he came from Outside. He sees visions and believes they are from his life on the Outside. No one else within Incarceron really believes there is an Outside. Even though there are stories, legends of the one who escaped, Sapphique. There are many characters that we meet within Incarceron that follow Finn on his journey. All of them are interesting in their own right, but I felt we did not really get within these characters and get to their core. I never felt I knew much about any of them and their stories were kept very vague. I really want to know more.

As you can tell, I am finding it hard to write a review on this one. I loved this book in the beginning and then there were scenes that kind of went a little over the top for me and lost me completely. Then I found my way and was enjoying the journey again. Although this was a very interesting read, I just found there were even more questions left unanswered than what I would have liked. I am hoping that some of these questions will be solved with the next book...although I have heard rumors that is not the case.

Even though I was not head over heals for this one, I could not put it down. If you are a lover of epic fantasy/steampunk/dystopian I would recommend it. If you are not? You might find yourself lost, confused and uninterested.

Rating: 3.5 stars

{ Teaser Tuesday - April 19, 2011 }

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Mizb over at Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read

* Open to a random page

* Share two(2) 'teaser' sentences from somewhere on that page

* BE CAREFUL TO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS! ( make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others.)

* Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teaser.

My teaser:

" Finn had been flung on his face and chained to the stone slabs of the transitway. His arms, spread wide, were weighted with links so heavy, he could barely drag his wrists off the ground."

pg 5(the first pg, as I am just starting this one today) Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

What's your teaser this week. Leave me a comment and be sure to stop by and leave one for Mizb as well!

{ Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys }

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

March 2011 by Philomel Books

Source: Library

From Goodreads:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they have known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let them know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Grey is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

My review:

As I sit here writing this review, I am at a loss for words. It is hard to say that I loved this book, when you look at the contents within the cover. But, I did love this book. It is a very surreal experience. While I know that Lina and her family are a fictitious group of people. The story behind their life is not. These things did happen to real people. It is a truly heartbreaking story. And what is even more heartbreaking? The fact that myself, and many other people, knew nothing about this horrific evil that was allowed to take place in our history. I truly believe that this book should be a permanent part of our children's school curriculum. This is something that needs to be told. So that this is never, ever allowed to happen again.

There is so much more I could say about this book. However, I am left speachless. I was left with tears running down my face during the last 50 pgs or so. I could not move or do anything other than stare at the cover once I turned the last page. This is a truly heartbreaking story. But it is also a true testament to the love, power and will of the human spirit.

Thank you, Ruta Sepetys.

Rating: 5 stars!

Ruta Sepetys discusses her upcoming novel, Between Shades of Gray from Penguin Young Readers Group on Vimeo.