Cover Love #3

Property of Bookshelvers Anonymous!

This is my third Cover Love. It's where bloggers can gab about covers they adore, love, are interested in, etc. So go to Bookshelvers Anonymous and check it out! You can also look at any other links there. Enjoy!  

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else--two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren't they settling? Why isn't one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn't... 

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she's still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet...for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

There are a couple reasons why I really like this cover. While there seems to be more and more covers showing only half of a girl's face, I like how they twisted it around on this cover. It's as if it's going to consume all of her and we just see a snapshot of it before it covers the whole page.

Her eyes tell a good story as well. They look watery as if she was crying. The expressions she has is stony, but sad and I like the coloring around her forehead. If you read the synopsis (come on, if you didn't, GO BACK), it's pretty obvious to emphasize "me." At the same time, I didn't notice it at first and when I did, I thought it was a nice touch.

I've had this on my wishlist for a while and this was supposed to be my first Cover Love, but other covers kept drawing my attention. However, personally, I thought this cover deserved some love as well.

Do you want to read What's Left of Me? What cover are you intrigued by? 

Review: UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld

Everyone gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that? 

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. Not for her license–for turning pretty. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. 

But Tally’s new friends Shay isn’t sure she wants to be pretty. She’d rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world–and it isn’t very pretty. The Authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever. 

When I asked for book suggestions before I headed to the library, I was constantly recommended this book. I had seen it a few times in the library before and my young, prejudice self thought "It’s by a man. And I’m not sure about that title." I know that was horrible of me. But hey, I probably thought that when I was way younger. I never even bothered to read the description, which is even worse. So after I read the description, I didn’t even wait to go to the library. I put the whole series on hold.

Tally is probably like a lot of sixteen year olds in our present society. Insecure, completely waiting and wishing to grow up already, and doesn’t see a problem with doing what everyone else is doing. When everyone turns twelve, they leave their middle-pretty (basically pretties who are middle-aged) parents behind and are sent to dorms. Sixteen is the age everyone looks forward to. Sixteen is when they have an operation on their whole body to make themselves “perfect” which equals pretty. They become new-pretty. They describe the operation a couple times, each time sounding worse to me. Who wants that done? Not even celebrities would do that! They become perfect so that everyone will be equal.

Review: THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT by Veronica Rossi

It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.

Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at fi rst. Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure—and a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

EEEEEP! Sorry for my virtual scream, everybody, but I was so excited to read this. Thanks to my lovely sister Shelver who won it in a giveaway by the super nice Veronica Rossi, I was able to read this in late October/early November. It doesn't come out until January so I was even more excited when I realized I didn't have to wait a few more months. Happy dance! 

Peanuts happy dance! 

Review: UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

For the first however many pages, I felt as if my feet were dragging behind me. I was a little bored and Aria annoyed me. I wasn't terribly interested in the description either because of so many "dystopian" names. I love dystopias, don't get me wrong. But "Dweller", "Death Shop", "Reverie", "Outsider"; it was just too much for me! It's possible it was because I was just coming off of reading a couple of other dystopians that I felt slightly sick of it all. 

I picked it up anyways and after being nagged by my sister, I read it. Man, oh man, am I glad that I did! 

Under the Never Sky is told in third person and is switched from Aria to Peregrine (aka Perry). I feel as if I keep picking up more and more dual narratives and so far I haven't been disappointed. How can I when I feel so incredibly grateful to have BOTH insights? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be so head over heels in love with Perry if it was just Aria's perspective. 

With a Smarteye, Aria can experience different Realms. She lives in a secluded pod, but everything is stimulated. Even feelings are stimulated. Children are designed to the T and not a single girl has her period (hip hip hooray!). But when Aria loses contact with her mother who is in Bliss, she's determined to play lackey to top dog Soren to find answers. That's when it all slides downhill. 

I'm not being a spoiler for saying this. Trust me, you know they're going to do stupid stuff (it's in the very beginning) and that's how Aria is exiled. She's rescued by a mysterious Outsider and after some complications, she's then banished out of Reverie. She then meets this Outsider known as my Perry. Er..I mean Perry. 

"But that is called 'cannibalism', my dear children,
and is, in fact, frowned upon in most societies."

Perry is the exact opposite of Aria. He's an Outsider. He kills, he hunts, he protects. He has a disreputable bond with his nephew, who is taken away. They team up so that Aria can find her mother and Perry can find his nephew. Along the way, we meet cannibals. My sister calls them charming, I call them...not. I forgot to reread that section when she said that, but the only thing I think of is Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka. 

After Aria stopped being annoying (I hated her calling Perry a Savage, but I guess I understand), my opinion of her bumped up several levels. She's very talkative and inquisitive. Perry is quiet and withdrawn. Aria comes from a world where you don't really do anything except have a good time. He's the younger brother of the Blood Lord of the tribe. He's never known anything except hardship. While predictable, I did like seeing their relationship grow. I couldn't help smiling when Perry turned to be the one trying to converse and Aria was keeping her lips shut. Now THAT was charming. 

Cover Love #1

Property of Bookshelvers Anonymous

I've decided to add on another meme! Readers, let me introduce you to Cover Love, if you haven't heard of it already. Every other Thursday (I will not be able to do it every week!) I'll be talking about a book that has a cover I like. That's basically it. I can gush, squeal, or just explain why I picked that exact cover. All thanks to Shelver at Bookshelvers Anonymous, I have this chance! 

Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him.  He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is a human, and he knows the rules.  Keep the truth a secret.  It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him.  He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

I was searching for books and then BANG--this smacked me in the head. I felt as if it pulled me through the screen. Just look at it. Personally, I love it. 

You see two different kind of worlds. You see the lighter side with two teens. But then outside of it, there's a darker, harsher world. It's as if it's being ripped. People are running. They're panicking and it looks like the world is ending. With the cover and the description, you know people are trying to survive. Although dark, I like the darker "world" the best. It's so creepy and even sad. I do love the contrast though with the bright yellow in the center. 

I'm not a huge fan of guy POVs, but I'm getting more and more used to them. This is one I'll probably pick up just because of that very cool cover. 

What do you think? What cover are you intrigued by? 

Wishlist Wednesday #1

Property of Pen to Paper! 

First. Ever. Meme. 

It might not seem as if it's a big deal, but it is. I don't really understand directions all that well (blame my mother), so I was really afraid I'd screw it up and get sued or something. But I did it and I was fine! I've been wanting to do this meme ever since I saw it. Not only does it have a very pretty button, but it also sounds fun. I get to gush about books I want to read? Great! So thank you, Dani from Pen To Paper for hosting this fantastical meme. 

Now on to this book.

You or your Alt? Only one will survive. 

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

TWINS! 

I love twins. Always have. My childhood was all about obsessing over the Mowry and Olsen twins. I would pester my mom to see if I really had a twin who either: died or was placed for adoption. I don't have a twin, but I always wanted one. I loved the idea of someone else looking like me. Twins share a remarkable bond and I wanted (still do) that. So, okay. These are "Alts" but I don't exactly care right now. 

This book is obviously dystopian. Well, well, I also love dystopian novels. And it has some romance!

The name made me pause a second or two though. West Grayer? There's some odd names in YA nowadays, mostly in a dystopia. But West Grayer sounds more on the masculine side for me. I think of Wes and Wesley. The last name doesn't help all that much either. But I'll overlook it. She sounds like a kick-butt fifteen year old. I'm wondering why everything is really starting out so early if they have until twenty years old, but I guess we'll figure that out when we read it. 

But do you see the cover? Oh, West even looks tough there! You don't see some model on the front making a "tough" face. You see a girl walking away in what looks to be an alley with weapons in her hand! A knife in one hand and a gun in the other. It might sound odd, but she even looks pretty in the back. Her hair is swishing and her clothes look very nice. Sorry, I'm just already in love. 

It also sparks some interesting points. Every adult that is living in Kersh is a murderer. You cannot be living without killing your Alt. And every child is probably living in fear, wondering if they're the ones going to die. Like the end says, every child also probably thinks there's someone out there better than his or herself. Then think about the society! It's twisting around where a potential sibling is being raised by another family. You're then turned on one another in a cat-and-mouse game to live. Then it starts all over again with your own kids when you have them. They will have an Alt and your child will either die or their Alt will. Perfect, huh? 

Elsie Chapman is already intriguing me. I really cannot wait until this comes out. I just really hope it'll be good. 

What book can you NOT wait for?