It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (5)

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what books we've read, what we're currently reading, and what we hope to read. My, my, the week has flown by (no rhyme intended) and I've read two wonderful books!

Read:

Matched by Ally Condie

Vampire Crush by A. M. Robinson

Reading:
Wish by Alexandra Bullen

To Read:

Wishful Thinking by Alexandra Bullen

Virals by Kathy Reichs 

Vampire Crush by A. M. Robinson

Genre: teen fantasy

Age Group: Young Adult

Series and Book #: no series, book 1
Pages: 416
Synopsis: I swear, my life was always totally normal. Normal house, normal family, normal school. My looks are average, I don't have any superpowers, no one's showing up to tell me I'm a princess--you get the picture. But when my junior year started, something not normal happened. There were new kids at school...new kids with a wardrobe straight out of a 19th-century romance novel, and an inexplicable desire to stay at school until sundown. And on top of that, James Hallowell showed up. James, who stole my sandwiches in fourth grade and teased me mercilessly through middle school. James, who now seems to have the power to make my heart race any time he comes near. But something weird is going on. Because James rarely goes out during the day. And he seems stronger than your typical guy. And he knows the new kids, all of whom seem to be harboring some kind of deep secret....

~~

I know that the synopsis sounds really dumb, and honestly, it looks like a Twilight wanna be. But once I started it, it was clear that this had no intention of being a Twilight wanna be.

This was hilarious, sarcastic, witty, and a whole different look on vampires. It mixes popular culture with the original vampire myths, which is very hard to do when you have Stephanie Meyer as your competition. Robinson wrote Sophie as a normal girl who wants to stay normal and doesn't mind her obscurity in high school. And then the new kids come, and she doesn't think they're normal from the beginning considering that one (namely one named Violet) wears dresses from the mid-1800's.

Speaking of the vampires, they were so funny! They hardly knew anything about modern day and were still living in their times, even though they knew what was happening around them. I thought the plot was just about Sophie figuring out that her classmates were vampires, but then it got way more interesting when you figure out that Vlad (main evil vampire) wants to find a girl that may bring him out of obscurity. So awesome!!!

Over all, Vampire Crush was adorable, witty, and hilarious. Sophie was a sweet and strong MC who knew what had to be done and was determined to get it done. And James, oh my goodness, James. Amazing!! It was really funny when he read her thoughts when she didn't realize it. I could go on and on about this book, but I'll just say that you should add this to your TBR pile or your MRL. This is one of those diamond-in-the-rough books!

The Cover: I don't really get this cover, and I don't think that it portrays the book well, but I like the little bat in the middle.

Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

Genre: teen science fiction and dystopian
Age Group: Young Adult
Series and Book #: Matched, book 1
Pages: 384
Synopsis: In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices. It's hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is teh one...until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path no one else has ever dared follow--between perfection and passion.

~~

I had heard amazing things about this book, and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that it would be great. But I never thought it would be AMAZING!

The beginning bugged me, the way Cassia fawned over the Society and how great it is, and how perfect everything is. It creeped me out, too, because the Society measured everything and predicted everything. They predicted who Cassia would be Matched with, they predicted she'd come in second in a race up a hill, they predicted when she was too tired to run anymore on her tracker. It was so precise and purposeful. The Society sounded perfect, with no blemishes or scars, but they way they handled everything, resorting to violence when nothing seemed to work. They pushed Cassia to her edge, which was bold of them.

Cassia is an interesting character. She loves the Society and their choices, but she doesn't totally trust them. She knows that Xander should be her Match, but her love for Ky runs deeper than her love for Xander, which was so awesome. The romance development between Cassia and Ky was suspenseful and kept me reading.

Over all, Matched was just totally amazing. It grabbed you and pulled you in. It showed you flaws and outrageous ideas and events. It made you feel, like every book should. I loved the characters in this book, how they surprise you. Truly amazing. Add to your TBR pile or MRL.

The Cover: This is a perfect image of how Cassia feels trapped by the Society and I loved the incorporation of her Matched dress.

Let's Talk Covers: Passion (Fallen, book 3) by Lauren Kate

For some of you Fallen fans out there, you are probably awaiting the next installment, Passion. I was awaiting the cover, even though I've never read the books. But when I saw it...I kind of looked again, making sure I had the right book. The covers for Fallen and Torment were amazing with dark, beautiful covers that were very eerie. But with the newest cover, I just don't see eerie or beautiful. The display of light for the clouds would be pretty...just not on a dark book. The bottom of the book is dark blue, which is what's most likely bothering me most. The dresses aren't the same, I don't even think the models are the same, and the darkness that I loved on Fallen and Torment just isn't there in Passion. The books are good, the first two covers are beautiful, but the last cover just doesn't hit home for me. What are your thoughts?

Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Genre: teen social issues

Age Group: Young Adult

Book #: one
Pages: 320
Synopsis: High school senior Teresa Adams is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class. But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out -- doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tere surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, sexy Sweet T -- and to everyone's shock, she's a hit! Even Gavin, the only guy in school who she dares to talk to, raves about the mysterious DJ's awesome taste in music. But when The SLAM announces a songwriting contest -- and a prom date with Sweet T is the grand prize -- Sweet T's dream could turn into Tere's worst nightmare....

~~

I really loved Shrinking Violet. It was a sweet, short read with an amazing and relatable main character. Tere is quiet and feels out casted. She's more relatable than, say, Clary from The Mortal Instruments or Chloe from The Darkest Powers because she's not a girl with super powers, or a vampire boyfriend, or even a friend with some kind of magical talents. I don't mean to be harsh on other MC's because they're amazing and their boyfriends are amazing, but, really? They're not relatable.

Tere is a sweet girl trying to grow up to be who she wants to be rather than who others think she should be. She's so shy and adorable. She has self esteem issues and hardly any friends. She has a crush on a guy at school, she has every issue most girls have.

Although Joseph was amazing with Tere herself, I thought the plot was very quick. One chapter, Tere's wishing for a job at SLAM and the next, she does have a job at SLAM. It went by very quickly and I found myself turning back pages to figure out exactly where I was.

Over all, Shrinking Violet is a sweet, heartfelt read with a very interesting story behind it. Joseph wrote Tere to be like any other girl and I found myself relating to her in subtle ways. The end was amazing, although for me a little predictable, and I saw a lot of character growth not only from Tere herself, but from some of the side characters, also.

The Cover: A sweet, adorable cover but it mostly has to do with the title of the book more than the book itself. A shrinking violet does come up, but only once or twice. But I love this cover in it's lighthearted and cute feel.

Daily Dose (4)

Daily Dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly where we share inspirational photos we've found. Although, most of these are cute more than inspirational. But maybe you'll see something I don't.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (4)

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what books we've read, what we're reading, and what we're hoping to read. This week, I read the amazing Darkest Powers Trilogy! Check it out:

Read:

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1) by Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening (Darkest Powers Trilogy #2) by Kelley Armstrong

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #3)  by Kelley Armstrong

Reading:

Matched by Ally Condie

To Read:

Vampire Crush by A. M. Robinson

Wish by Alexandra Bullen