A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede

Summary (via Goodreads): "When a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into a traveling magician’s wagon, Kim doesn’t hesitate. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London, Kim isn’t above a bit of breaking-and-entering. A hard life and lean times have schooled her in one lesson: steal from them before they steal from you. But when the magician catches her in the act, Kim thinks she’s done for. Until he suggests she become his apprentice; then the real trouble begins.

Kim soon finds herself entangled with murderers, thieves, and cloak-and-dagger politics, all while trying to learn how to become both a proper lady and a magician in her own right.
Magic and intrigue go hand in hand in Mairelon the Magician and The Magician’s Ward, two fast-paced novels filled with mystery and romance, set against the intricate backdrop of Regency England."

Review: So I'd already read both the books this one's made up of, several years ago. But it was nice to revisit them, since it's been a while. I was a fan. The stories were fun, and the characterizations were pretty well done. Also, because I was looking for it, I caught all of the instances where Mairelon was subtly unhappy about Kim having suitors and stuff. So that was fun.

I had a hard time keeping track of what people looked like, though. This interfered with how well I was able to visualize things, so I wish there had been more description sprinkled in.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, i-own-it, is-this-a-kissing-book

Rating:

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Summary (via the author's website):  "When 16-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld,where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all."

Review: So here it is... it took me forever to finally read it, but once I got into it, it only took about two days. So hooray!

Can I talk about Will for a minute? Here is the actual "Bad Boy." Jace is not really a bad boy, he only pretends to be. He's sarcastic and impertinent and stuff, but when it comes down to it he's nice to the people around him, loyal, and a genuinely good person. Will, on the other hand, is rude and sarcastic too, but when it comes down to it he has a lot of psychological damage and he's not very nice to people. Ever. I'm proud of Ms. Clare, because so many people create these characters they say are "bad" who are actually just Jaces... teddy bears on the inside. But Will is an actual jerk. So, you know, props. Also, if you couldn't tell, I'm on Team Jem. But I reserve the right to change my mind when I read the next book(s) in the trilogy.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, i-own-it, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

Rating:

New Awards

I've won a couple awards in the last few weeks!

Thanks to Missy at Missy's Reads & Reviews and Jennifer at Book Noise for the One Lovely Blog award!

Here are the rules:
1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.

And thanks to Tina at Book Couture for the Life is Good award!

Here are the rules:
1. Thank and link back to the person that gave this award.
2. Answer the 10 survey questions.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.
4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked to let them know about the award.

Here are the questions:
1. If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?
I'm semi-anonymous; if you were intent on finding me, you could, but it's not super easy... question mark? I'm happy with the way it is, though. :)

2. Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side:

Um... I dunno! Maybe one time I insisted on where to eat dinner?

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

Hm... blond hair, hazel eyes, and a nose I'll probably never like. lol

4. What is your favourite summer cold drink?

There's this Korean drink called Milkus... it's pretty much carbonated milk. It sounds gross, but it's actually very tasty.

5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

 I watch TV, especially "guilty pleasure" shows like Buffy.

6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?

 Of course! What good would life be if there weren't anything I wanted to accomplish?? Right now I'm working on getting a job... some time in the future I want to start a family.

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?
I was the smart one, I admit it. Also, my senior year I took a bunch of classes that didn't involve much academia, so my teachers didn't care if I left. That was nice. :)

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?

Hm... probably my wedding day.

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
I guess I'm more comfortable talking about other things (you know, like books and stuff...) because I don't know if people care about my personal life. I think there's an important balance to strike between talking about my life and talking about books, and I think I'm a little skewed towards the book side. I'll try to work on that, eh?

10. If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

That depends on who was on the phone! I wouldn't hang up on someone just to read, but if I had the choice between reading and just calling some random friend for the heck of it, I'd probably read.

I'm afraid I'm going to cop out in the "passing these along" category and give them to everyone! Feel free to take these and pass them on! :)

The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart

Summary: "Ruby is back at Tate Prep, and it’s her thirty-seventh week in the state of Noboyfriend. Her panic attacks are bad, her love life is even worse, and what’s more: Noel is writing her notes, Jackson is giving her frogs, Gideon is helping her cook, and Finn is making her brownies. Rumors are flying, and Ruby’s already-sucky reputation is heading downhill.

Not only that, she’s also: running a bake sale, learning the secrets of heavymetal therapy, encountering some seriously smelly feet, defending the rights of pygmy goats, and body-guarding Noel from unwanted advances.

In this companion novel to The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book, Ruby struggles to secure some sort of mental health, to understand what constitutes a real friendship, and to find true love—if such a thing exists."

Review: I think I'm having a hard time reviewing this one because I read all three of them right in a row. I feel like pretty much everything I have to say here has already been said, but I'll give it a try.

So. I like Ruby's movie lists in her footnotes. I especially like when she's illustrating something that never happens in the movies: "Movies where [something that has happened to her/might happen]: none." In fact, now that I think of it, I like all of her footnotes. Even though a lot of the ones give definitions that I already know, which I'm going to pretentiously attribute to the fact that I'm a college graduate reading books aimed at high school students.

I like seeing Ruby's growth. She goes from the girl who kisses her best friend's boyfriend at a dance to someone who can say no to boys, stand up to her friends, and objectively admit that the people she was once close to aren't actually very good friends at all. So hooray for character development!

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking, to-own

Rating:

The Boy Book by E. Lockhart

Summary: "Here is how things stand at the beginning of newly-licensed driver Ruby Oliver's junior year at Tate Prep:

 • Kim: Not speaking. But far away in Tokyo.
 • Cricket: Not speaking.
 • Nora: Speaking--sort of. Chatted a couple times this summer when they bumped into each other outside of school--once shopping in the U District, and once in the Elliot Bay Bookstore. But she hadn't called Ruby, or anything.
 • Noel: Didn't care what anyone thinks.
 • Meghan: Didn't have any other friends.
 • Dr. Z: Speaking.
 • And Jackson. The big one. Not speaking.

But, by Winter Break, a new job, an unlikely but satisfying friend combo, additional entries to The Boy Book and many difficult decisions help Ruby to see that there is, indeed, life outside the Tate Universe."

Review: I liked this one as well. Ruby is still awesome, and still doing her thing. I like that things with boys happen the way they do in real life: Sometimes it's not meant to be, and they start dating other girls, and that's ok.

I like Ruby's therapy sessions. Doctor Z is pretty cool, and I like reading about them and about mental health and stuff. (Can you tell that I like my reading to be slightly educational? Because I do.)

I'm frustrated by Ruby's friends sometimes. Like how Kim and Cricket won't let Ruby have a side to the story, and won't give her a chance to slip up and make mistakes sometimes. That's frustrating.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking, to-own

Rating:

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Summary: "Ruby Oliver is 15 and has a shrink. She knows it’s unusual, but give her a break—she’s had a rough 10 days. In the past 10 days she:

lost her boyfriend (#13 on the list),

lost her best friend (Kim),

lost all her other friends (Nora, Cricket),

did something suspicious with a boy (#10),

did something advanced with a boy (#15),

had an argument with a boy (#14),

drank her first beer (someone handed it to her),

got caught by her mom (ag!),

had a panic attack (scary),

lost a lacrosse game (she’s the goalie),

failed a math test (she’ll make it up),

hurt Meghan’s feelings (even though they aren’t really friends),

became a social outcast (no one to sit with at lunch)

and had graffiti written about her in the girls’ bathroom (who knows what was in the boys’!?!).

But don’t worry—Ruby lives to tell the tale. And make more lists."

Review: So. It's been a while coming, but it was inevitable, ever since I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. I finally read the Ruby Oliver books. And, as expected, they were pretty much awesome.

I like Ruby... rather a lot. Mind, I don't agree with all the choices she makes, but she herself is cute, smart, funny, and basically a pretty cool chick. I think Ruby's a tad more relate-able than Frankie, since Frankie, even though she wants a boyfriend and acts on that desire, also admits that she doesn't need a boyfriend and pretty much just likes having one. Ruby, on the other hand, has that passion and teenage angst, wherein she loves Jackson and needs him and pretty much can't live without him.

Fun fact: I was talking about E. Lockhart and her feminist ways earlier, and someone commented that she subscribes to the "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle" school of thought... and that quote was totally mentioned in The Boyfriend List. So good call.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, funny, is-this-a-kissing-book, thought-provoking, to-own

Rating:

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Summary: "WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . .  AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?  There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.  But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug."

Review: I'm not gonna lie. I hated a lot of this book. Zoey is just wandering around, having no idea what's going on at all, not telling anyone she has no idea, and therefore looking like an idiot. And I have a problem with people looking like idiots. I wanted to slap her.

Also, the Brandon thing. Zoey's in the classic "you knew what he was when you picked him up" situation, and I was appalled that she kept trying to pretend she was with him when she definitely should have known that she wasn't.

And one more thing. The summary says that Zoey tries to appear perfect and put up a show of being flawless. But I didn't see that at all. There was no character development in that department, besides the fact that she talked about her manicure all the time. (But I'm afraid that noticing the state of a manicure doth not a fully developed character make.)

So, to sum up: Zoey was an idiot, I didn't like her, I didn't like her dad (which I didn't mention because there's not much to do besides call him a big old d.b.), and I pretty much just didn't like this book. Although it still gets two stars, because at least I read the second half in one sitting.

Goodreads Shelves: fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious

Rating:plus a frowny face, for good measure :(

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Goodreads Summary: "For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life."

Review: Ok... what's the deal with Nora and Patch? He humiliates her, goes out of his way to make her life difficult (hey, Patch? just because you're not mortal and don't need to get good grades and go to college, doesn't mean other people don't. Stop interfering with Nora's bio grade. kthxbai), and is rude and cryptic whenever he talks to her, which is all the time. BUT WAIT! For reasons she can't explain, she's drawn to him!!!


There's "then he looked at me twice" drama, and then there's ridiculous drama. And this was definitely the latter. Besides which... I liked Elliot a lot better. You know, before he started being all creepy. Prior to that point, he definitely counted as one of my Likeable Bad Guys (because I had heard enough about it to know that she was going to end up with Patch, thus making Elliot a bad guy).

And yet... I still liked it. It was pretty good. It didn't, thank goodness, have Twilight Pacing, which is Relationship Drama for the first two-thirds/three-fourths of the book... and then an inexplicable dangerous situation that Has To Be Resolved for the last third/fourth. It was one book the whole time, which actually had a fairly coherent storyline, so... props for that.

Probably going to read Crescendo.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, fluffy, is-this-a-kissing-book

Rating: 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Spoiler-free!!

Summary: This is the third book in the Hunger Games series. If you haven't read the first two... you should go read them. And if you have, Mockingjay picks up where Catching Fire left off, ok?

Review: So I didn't read this one until a week and a half after it came out... I didn't want to buy it (especially since I don't own the first two), and I was a million years back on the hold list at the library. Luckily I have some sisters-in-law who like the series, so I borrowed a copy from them and read it over the weekend. Hooray!

I ... don't know. It was ... pretty good? It was a good conclusion to the series; I feel like the characters were true to their previous actions and to the direction their development had lead them. My favorite relationship in the book was between Katniss and Haymitch... They really get each other, and I like that.

Events led themselves to a logical conclusion, I think. I'm pleased with where it ended up.

Something I didn't like: I don't really feel like it blew my mind like the others. There was always something horrifying or crazy about the other books, and once this series hit the larger scale I feel like that stopped. The plot, for the most part, was fairly predictable.

And one more thing - because I had to mention the love triangle at some point: I feel like this was an unusual love triangle, because of the complete lack of a preference on Katniss's part. (I'm referring here to the first two books.) And it's not that she felt the same amount of emotion/love for each boy... it's the lack thereof. I honestly don't think she needs either one of them, and that's part of what makes me like her. If it weren't for the fact that the boys are so in love with her (and thus her ending up with one of them is strongly foreshadowed), I would have been pulling for the "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle" philosophy and wanted her to end up alone... because she wanted it that way.

Goodreads Shelves: addictive, is-this-a-kissing-book, pretentious, thought-provoking


Rating:

Book Blogger Hop #7

Hey y'all! Friday generally equals Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jen at Crazy for Books, so... here I am, hopping. :)

As Jen puts it,

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!  

She puts a question to her bloggers every week, and this week's question is

Do you judge a book by its cover?

I've noticed a lot of people saying yes, which, given the creativity all over book covers today, doesn't surprise me at all.

My answer is also yes. I'm more inclined to read a book if I like its cover, although if I've read enough good reviews about a book (or even just one solid rave), I'll overlook a blah cover and give it a try.

All those who are visiting from the Hop, welcome!!