Bout of Books Goals and Update Post!!

Can't wait for this readathon to start!!! I've made some pretty hefty goals, but have the entire week off, so I should be fine Here's my tentative book list. These are all books I've had forever, with the exception of one new purchase.

Day Two - 10 PM

The read-a-thon is going ok for me, though I've really been slacking off - there was a sale on sims 3 games and I might have bought a few and played for like.. 3 hours yesterday. Yeah. Book-wise I've gotten through Nantucket Blue and tried Tris and Izzie and just had to put it down - not for me. I'm now about 130 pages into Born Wicked and loving it! I have nothing to do tomorrow so I may pull a reading all nighter and see how it goes. 

Stacking the Shelves (4)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Bought: 

Won:

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

563 Pages

Published December 1st 2009 by Little, Brown and Company

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Prior to this week I felt like everyone had read this series besides me - now I know why - this book was spectacular! If you want a story full of magic, intense family secrets and plenty of historical references, Beautiful Creatures is the right book for you!

Characters

I loved the characters in this book. Lena was very mysterious at first, as was her family. There were so many things even she didn't know about herself. She was shy and not the best with people, having been run out of a previous school. I liked how she was stronger than she used to be, trying to ignore the harsh words from almost the entire town. She wasn't backing down and she wasn't going to let them ruin her life. 

Ethan was a sweetheart for the most part. He gave up his previous life to be with Lena, even when she was trying to push him away. He wasn't a jerk like most teenage boys, not like most of the kids from his basketball team. He was strong and inquisitive, trying to unearth the many mysteries of the town. 

Plot

For me, the plot was the strongest part of this story. I loved all the twists and turns, the mysteries and intense shared secrets. I loved learning about the families histories through visions from the locket and trips to the library. History of the casters and the curse Lena's family is under really got my attention, leaving me turning the pages well into the night. and the ending - the song changing from 16 moons to 17.. sounds like the race to find an out is back on! I've already ordered the boxed set, I need to read more! :)

Writing Style

I simply loved the writing style in this book. With two authors you'd expect it to be choppy in some ways, but I couldn't even tell. Everything flowed smoothly from chapter to chapter and I loved the little bits of foreshadowing that were going on the entire book. Beautiful Creatures captivated me and left me wanting more!

Clean Your Shelf Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop sponsored by ~I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. I have one book up for grabs this week from my shelves...

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Book Review: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Living Dead Girl

Elizabeth Scott

170 Pages

Published September 2nd 2008 by Simon Pulse

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.

Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.


Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.




When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.




Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.


This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

I bought this book on a whim a few days ago for my Nook, thinking it would be.. interesting. IT was more than that. This sad tale of a haunted girl had me riveted from the explosive first pages, all the way through to the end.

Characters

Our main character is Alice, who didn't used to be Alice  Ray, her kidnapper has named her that when she was ten years old. I truly felt for Alice and all she had to go through.. so so many terrible things happened to her. She was afraid and beaten down, but strong enough to carry on. She did want to die many times, but when she saw an escape route she took it and rode it out all the way through. 

Plot

The plot and pacing of this book had me riveted, reading this book in a single sitting. Through combination of suspense and gripping terror, as well as short chapters and breakneck speed, this book is one you have to put down at times even though you don't want to. The content of this book is pretty strong and at some points graphic, I felt my stomach turning in disgust. How could a man do the things he did to Alice, and why?

Writing Style 

Elizabeth Scott haunted me with her words but made me keep on reading. She gave me awareness, made me realize how evil some people can be, even in small towns like the one I live in. It almost makes me sick saying I enjoyed a book about such harsh topics, but with a writing style like the one found in this book it's hard not to. 

Stacking The Shelves (3)

I had a pretty good week in books. I bought one book for my Nook and two from a local bookstore. Here's what I got:

Book Review: Jemima J. By Jane Green

Jemima J

Jane Green

373 Pages

Published June 5th 2001 by Broadway

Jemima Jones is overweight. About one hundred pounds overweight. Treated like a maid by her thin and social-climbing roommates, and lorded over by the beautiful Geraldine (less talented but better paid) at the Kilburn Herald, Jemima finds that her only consolation is food. Add to this her passion for her charming, sexy, and unobtainable colleague Ben, and Jemima knows her life is in need of a serious change. When she meets Brad, an eligible California hunk, over the Internet, she has the perfect opportunity to reinvent herself–as JJ, the slim, beautiful, gym-obsessed glamour girl. But when her long-distance Romeo demands that they meet, she must conquer her food addiction to become the bone-thin model of her e-mails–no small feat.
With a fast-paced plot that never quits and a surprise ending no reader will see coming, Jemima J is the chronicle of one woman's quest to become the woman she's always wanted to be, learning along the way a host of lessons about attraction, addiction, the meaning of true love, and, ultimately, who she really is.

Jemima J was a book I thought I'd like a lot more than I actually did. It started off great but ended up lacking for me  later on - but I did love the super sweet ending!

Characters

I felt like the characters were for the most part fleshed out and realistic, but some were just annoying. First, our main character drove me absolutely batty, all while making me feel sorry for her at the same time. It wasn't that I felt sorry for her because she was overweight - I actually am as well, but only by 5 pounds or so, which I'm quite happy with - I felt sorry for her because she didn't have any self confidence. Not a single shred of it - zilch. 

She started off thinking she was useless and like a ghost to people, all because she had some extra poundage. Everything changed in her life when she met Brad, a California gym junkie, on the world wide web, which back then wasn't very old (the book was written in 1999!) She pretends to be some gym obsessed, skinny sexy woman and of course, he takes the bait and wants to meet her. In the course of a few short months she becomes obsessed with being skinny - it literally takes over her life. I have a few gripes about this. 

First, she wants to get to 120 pounds. Okay, that's fine if you're like 5'5 or something like that. She's 5'7! I'm 5'8 and I'd be sick at 120!! I was super skinny back when I was 15 and 135! I feel like she's being unrealistic. Second, she pretty much stops eating, only having salads and stuff. She has no enjoyment in life ans she works out for hours a day. All she cares about is being skinny, even when she's already reached her goal weight she doesn't relax, not until much later on in the book.

She's also very gullible  believing everything Brad says. There is some very suspicious behavior going on and she doesn't really question it. Come on and stand up for yourself Jemima!! 

Other characters were ok for the most part. Her roommates were annoying and bitchy, as was a lot of people in the story. Brad was a sleezeball. I had an inkling of what was going on from the start, but had no idea it was so... slimy  I mean - who does what he did?! Then there was Ben. Kind, sweet, caring Ben. I might of had a bit of a crush. :)

Plot

What kept me going is probably the plot. It was pretty interesting, once you take out all the bits talking about weight loss and food obsessions. And the parts describing the binging  which for some reason made me feel sick. 

I thought it was exciting seeing her life change, because in the end she had gained some confidence. That I can appreciate. I loved the descriptions of London and how the author knew how the people talked, what they ate, everything. The same goes for Los Angelos. She clearly did her research.

Writing Style 

Despite hating many of the characters in this book and overall not particularly enjoying it, I still think I'll pick up and try another book by this author, solely because of her unique writing style. She mixes up perspectives, some from the stand-point of a narrator telling a story about Jemima or any of the other characters, and some straight from Jemima's point of view. Her words flowed well and came out smooth, keeping me entertained. 

Overall this book was ok, but not something I'd read again.