May Update

This blog has seen quite a bit of change since May began. The new look I gave it a couple weeks ago has been slowly worked on and I've changed up one of my weekly memes. I plan on shuffling around my weekly memes some more in the weeks to come. I feel like I've gotten myself into too many and I'll whittle it down to just a handful. I still want my main content to be the book reviews themselves. My goal for this blog is to post 2-3 book reviews per week.

In other news, this blog has a Facebook page! Please go and 'like' it! I want to do more things with it in the future, but for now follow me on Twitter for the best updates. Also, feel free to grab my new button which I added to my blog this afternoon. Once I reach 100 followers, I have plans to set in motion a pretty awesome giveaway, so spread the word!

In My Mailbox (#3)

This week I have gone overboard! Clearly, I've dusted off my ancient e-reader and taken up acquiring some e-books. While I immensely prefer the printed word, I realise that I need to be more of a nomad and not try to move so many books around the world. Who knows where we'll move next!

P.S. I think I'm set for awhile, don't you?

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Format: e-book
Published by: HarperCollins
Purchased

Starters by Lissa Price
Format: e-book
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Purchased

Partials by Dan Wells
Format: e-book
Published by: HarperCollins
Purchased

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Format: e-book
Published by: HarperCollins
Borrowed

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Format: e-book
Published by: Penguin USA, originally Putnam Juvenile
Borrowed

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
Format: e-book
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Borrowed

Waiting on Wednesday: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which bloggers post books they are eagerly anticipating to be released.


City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5)
by Cassandra Clare
Goodreads // Amazon


Release Date: May 8, 2012

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love? Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

First of all, could that summary be any longer? They always are for Clare's books. I'm really eagerly awaiting this release and I can't wait. City of Fallen Angels ended with a bang and it made me want more! Unfortunately, I have to wait until May for this one. I adore the Mortal Instruments series, even if I've slightly given up hope on the Infernal Devices. I'm a true fan. If you haven't read the first four books, then I'd probably wonder if you've been living under a rock.

This series is highly recommended by myself! Clary and Jace's romance is strong and believable without it being too lovey-dovey and I just love every single minor character. The Lightwoods and Simon crack me up and I just can't get enough of Clary's mom and Luke. Magnus (who also appears in the Infernal Devices) is just far more entertaining in this series. To sum it up, I can't wait! I think I already said that...

Movie Trailer: The Host

So last week the teaser for The Host film coming out March 2013 was released. The trailer itself isn't so fantastic, nor am I blown away by the choice in casting (the main cast is listed over at IMDB), so I may not have high hopes!

I wasn't as into the Twilight books as I was The Host. I think aliens living in human bodies is just far more interesting and it was more my cup of tea. I have, however, seen most of the movies in the Twilight franchise enough to know that the movie adaptations weren't my favourite and I hope The Host doesn't follow down that path. It has so much more potential! What are your thoughts?

In My Mailbox (#2)

This is just a post to let my readers know what books I've acquired this week. It's a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. I'll include the blip on the back cover as well, just as if you were looking at the book yourself. All of the covers are of the edition I have acquired. :)

Let me know if you've read any of these!






Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Format: Paperback
Purchased

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim. Then Aria meets an outsider names Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild- a savage- but might be her best hope at staying alive. - Back Cover

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
Format: Paperback
Purchased

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it's all that dangerous - the only neck I risk is my own. Until I accidently start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution. I should have just said no... - Back Cover

Unearthly by Cynthia Neely
Format: Paperback
Purchased

In the beginning there's a boy standing in the trees. He's around my age, in that space between a child and man, maybe all of seventeen years old. I'm not sure how I know this. I can only see the back of his head, his dark hair curling damply against his neck. There's a strage oragne light filling the eastern sky. There's the heavy smell of smoke. I take a step toward the boy and the ground crunches under my feet. He hears me. He starts to tur. One more second and I will see his face. That's when the vision leaves me. I blink, and it's gone. - Back Cover

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Format: e-book
Borrowed

Scorch Trials by James Dashner
Format: e-book
Borrowed

Waiting on Wednesday: Above by Leah Bobet

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which bloggers post books they are eagerly anticipating to be released. 

Above 
by Leah Bobet
Release Date: April 1, 2012

A gorgeous urban fantasy about dangers outside and in.
Matthew has always lived in Safe, a community hidden far beneath the pipes and tunnels of the city Above. The residents fled to Safe years before to escape the Whitecoats and their cruel experiments, and now Matthew is responsible for both the keeping of Safe’s stories and for Ariel—a golden-haired shapeshifter, and the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen.

But one horrifying night, an old enemy murders Safe’s founder, Atticus, and the community is taken over by an army of shadows. Only Matthew, Ariel, and a handful of friends escape Above. Now they not only have to survive in a sunlit world they barely know, but they must unravel the mystery of the shadows’ fury and Atticus’s death. It’s up to Matthew to find a way to remake Safe—not just for himself and his family, but for Ariel, who’s again faced with the life she fled, and who needs him more than ever before.

An urban fantasy and a love story, Above is the breathtaking debut of an extraordinary new voice.

The cover is what drew me into this read. I love her wings and the buildings in the background! The premise of this book sounds exciting. It seems to be a mix of urban fantasy with some dystopian aspects thrown in. My cup of tea! The reviews on this book are stellar and I can't wait to get a hold of this book. Readers, this book also counts towards the YA Debut Authors Challenge and it looks like a good one!

In My Mailbox (#1)

I've decided to jump on the In My Mailbox meme bandwagon. It's a meme hosted by The Story Siren where bloggers post their book hauls. For now, my posts won't be structured weekly, but as and when I purchase books. If the library system was better where I lived, I'd also include those. But, alas, the book availability is something to be desired!

This week I purchased two books. I'll go ahead and let you know my first impressions. Judge the book by the cover, as it were.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

First Published Feb 1, 2011

"They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie."  - Back Cover

My first impressions are pretty good. I've read some great reviews and it seems like the genre I'm usually interested in. The only thing I'm apprehensive about is the quote on the back from Grazia describing this book as a "Margaret Atwood meets Twilight novel." I hope it isn't too hokey of a romance, though you'd think I knew I was getting myself into a romance with this book's premise! I'm very picky when it comes to a romance in a novel! Since some people described it as an unputdownable dystopian, I had to secure myself a copy.

Maze Runner by James Dashner
First Published October 6, 2009

"When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, and encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there, or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, the will risk everything to find out." -Back Cover

I first heard of this book about a year ago. I've been putting off reading it, because I had a stack of books already and I was right in the heart of starting my dissertation for my masters degree. Blech. Good thing I have it now! I have such huge expectations for this book and I hope it doesn't let me down. It seems rather Hunger Games-esque in terms of adolescents trying to survive some sort of maze that reminds me of an arena. Also, can I just say that I prefer the original cover to this one I purchased? It's not a scenic. But, hey ho, you get what you get in the UK. Nevertheless, I'm definitely excited and now it comes down to the inevitable question of which do I read first?

Coming Up Soon

I've read a few books over the last month or two and they need reviewing! So, coming soon to Paperback Fantasies will be:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Crossed by Ally Condie

The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare

I expect to have those up this coming week and the week after! Now I just have to finish two of those, but no worries! I've got a long queue of books to collect after I finish reading what I have now.

Happy Reading!