Reading Challenged: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Reading Challenges Update: April 2012

Here is where I stand with the challenges I have joined after the month of April (only challenges that I read books for this month are featured here):

Mystery & Suspense (4/24)
3. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
4. Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers by Chris Grabenstein

Graphic Novels (6/12)
5. My Bad! by Rize Shinba
6. Double Cast by Ellie Mamahara & Takana Mizuhashi

100 Books in a Year (52/100)
38. My Bad! by Rize Shinba
39. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
40. Entwined by Heather Dixon
41. Double Cast by Ellie Mamahara & Takana Mizuhashi
42. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
43. Night Sky by Jolene Perry
44. Pantheons by E. J. Dabel
45. The Liberation of Max McTrue by Kim Culberson
46. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
47. Die for Me by Amy Plum
48. Gift of Magic Lynn Kurland
49. A Single Tear by Mac McCulloch
50. The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith
51. Antiquitas Lost by Robert Louis Smith
52. Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers by Chris Grabenstein

Debut Author (3/112)
3. Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers by Chris Grabenstein

YA Contemporary (4/5)
2. Night Sky by Jolene Perry
3. The Liberation of Max McTrue by Kim Culbertson
4. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Book Blogger Recommendation (6/10)
6. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

Historical Fiction (3/5)
3. A Single Tear by Mae McCulloch

Horror & Urban Fantasy (8/48)
7. Pantheons by E. J. Dabel
8. Die for Me by Amy Plum

Chunkster (1/4)
1. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

Sophomore (2/10)
1. Night Sky by Jolene Perry
2. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

YA Mythology (2/10)
2. Pantheons by E. J. Dabel

New Adult (1/3)
1. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Standalone (6/15)
3. Night Sky by Jolene Perry
4. The Liberation of Max McTrue by Kim Culbertson
5. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
6. The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith

YA Saves (3/10)
3. Night Sky by Jolene Perry

YA/MG Fantasy (8/10)
5. Entwined by Heather Dixon
6. Pantheons by E. J. Dabel
7. The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith
8. Antiquitas Lost by Robert Louis Smith

Immortal (4/12)
4. Gift of Magic by Lynn Kurland

Telling Tales (1/5)
1. Entwined by Heather Dixon

British Books (4/12)
4. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

A to Z (21/26)
20. Entwined by Heather Dixon
21. Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers by Chris Grabenstein

Dean Koontz (1/3)
1. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz

Self-Published (3/5)
3. The Liberation of Max McTrue by Kim Culbertson

Multi-Cultural (2/12)
2. Night Sky by Jolene Perry

Witches and Witchcraft (4/5)
4. A Single Tear by Mae McCulloch

Paranormal Fantasy (4/10)
4. Die for Me by Amy Plum

Once Upon a Time (2/5)
2. Entwined by Heather Dixon

Elsewhere Online: April 2012

As you know from my In My Mailbox posts, I review for two other websites (bookloons.com and bittenbybooks.com). As I cannot post my reviews there and here, but I would still like to count the books I read for the challenges, I am going to have a post like this at the end of the every month listing the books I reviewed and what challenges the went towards.

Title: Pantheons

Author: E. J. Dabel

Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, YA Mythology, YA/MG Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Title: The Liberation of Max McTrue

Author: Kim Culbertson

Challenges: YA Contemporary, Standalone, Self-Published, 100 Books in a Year

Title: Wanderlove

Author: Kirsten Hubbard

Challenges: YA Contemporary, Sophomore, New Adult, Standalone, 100 Books in a Year

Title: Die for Me

Author: Amy Plum

Challenges: Horror & Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Title: Gift of Magic

Author: Lynn Kurland

Challenges: Immortal, 100 Books in a Year

Title: A Single Tear

Author: Mae McCulloch

Challenges: Historical Fiction, Witches and Witchcraft, 100 Books in a Year

Title: The Storm Makers

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Challenges: Standalone, YA/MG Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Title: Antiquitas Lost

Author: Robert Louis Smith

Challenges: YA/MG Fantasy, 100 Books in a Year

Title: Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers

Author: Chris Grabenstein

Challenges: Mystery & Suspense, Debut Author, A to Z, 100 Books in a Year

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Stacking the Shelves 4/22-4/28

For Review (here, on Bookloons, and on Bitten by Books):

A Witch's Legacy by Catherine Anne Collins

Nightmare by Annette Shelly

Dead World by Shannon Rouchelle

Memories of Murder by Lara Nance

Wraith's Forest by L. J. Leger

The Fallen Star by Jessica Sorensen

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal

Knee Deep by Jolene Perry

Revived by Cat Patrick

Won:

Spontaneous Performance by Marsh Cassady

Beyond the Map's Boundary by Nibi Soto

When Dreams Come True by Rebecca Emin

101 Things You Didn't Know About Irish History by Ryan Hackney & Amy Hackney Blackwell

Irish Fairy Tales by Leslie Conron

Swaps on Swap-Bot:

The Horse You Came in on by Martha Grimes

Child of the Dark Prophecy by T. A. Barron

Bought on Kobo:

Contingency Plan by Anita Ensal

The Disciple by Jemma Chase

This weekly meme about newly obtained books comes from Tynga's Reviews.

All images come from Goodreads.

*Meme change is due strictly to me feeling the name fits my weekly haul better as not all arrive via USPS.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Night Sky

Night Sky

by Jolene Perry

published by Tribute

2012

ISBN 978-0-9837418-6-2

Why Read?: Review

Challenges: YA Contemporary, Sophomore, Standalone, YA Saves, Multi-Cultural, 100 Books in a Year

Night Sky is so far my favorite YA contemporary of 2012. Jolene Perry's smooth writing style pulled me in immediately and did not let me go until the last page.

Jameson world has just come crashing down - or so he thinks. Sarah, his best friend and the girl he has a crush on, used him as a date to their dance just so she could hook up with the guy she has a crush on. Devastated, Jameson finds himself driving around his hometown of Las Vegas where he picks up Sky, a college freshman who is living with her grandparents just down the street from him. With just one night swim, Jameson finds that he has fallen hard, and Sky's demand for honesty brings their relationship to a whole new level that anything he ever had with Sarah. But when he learns that Sky is keeping some of her own secrets, Jameson learns that the one whom he must be the most honest with my just as well be himself.

Perry's writing is just as honest as Jameson tries to be with Sky. She delivers a realistic story that many high-schoolers - especially seniors on the verge of adulthood - can relate to. Nothing in the plot or character development feels forced, and Jameson is truly the type of guy that every girl wants but tends not to notice. Telling the story from his point of view adds an additional level of realism than I think would have come across if Perry chose Sky as the main character.

With a very believable storyline and characters, Night Sky is a must read. Jolene Perry is definitely a YA contemporary author to watch.

Rating: 5/5

Monday, April 23, 2012

Little Bee

Title: Little Bee

Author: Chris Cleave
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 978-1-4165-8964-8
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: British Books, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: I really had no clue what to expect - the back really does not tell you anything about the story. I really enjoyed the chapters from Little Bee's point of view and found that she was a great storyteller. Cleave slowly and expertly released the plot with each chapter, but with the lack of description on the back, I was expecting more of a twist at the end.

Rating: 4 stars

Double Cast

Title: Double Cast

Author: Ellie Mamahara & Takana Mizuhashi
Publisher: Doki Doki
ISBN: 978-1-56970-111-9
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Graphic Novels, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: As a lot of this was about theatre and acting, I enjoyed it. However, some of the panels seemed to jump a little too much making the story a little hard to follow at parts. And for being a yaoi, the romance was lost for quite a bit of it.

Rating: 3 stars

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Entwined

Title: Entwined

Author: Heather Dixon
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 978-0-06-207703-5
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: YA/MG Fantasy, Telling Tales, A to Z, Once Upon a Time, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This was such a sweet, cute, romantic fantasy! I really wanted to live the the slightly magic castle. The only problem I had with it is it took a while to get to the fairy tale part, and even then it was a few pages before I realized it was based on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses".

Rating: 4 stars

OT: Great Giveaway from Stratus Games

Something I love besides reading is games of all kinds. A few months ago I had the opportunity to playtest Off Your Rocker, a new party game from Status Games, and as it is based on my of my favorite games we play in theatre, I absolutely loved it. Now you can have the opportunity to play, too. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below.

In My Mailbox 4/15-4/21

For possible review (here and on Bookloons):

Zero by Tom Leveen

Spirit's Princess by Esther Friesner

The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher

Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

Shadow on the Wall by Pavarti K. Tyler

Listening to Africa by Diana M. Raab

Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

The Deserter by Peadar O Guilin

Peaceweaver by Rebecca Barnhouse

The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards

Won:

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Anthony John

Neversink by Barry Wolverton

This weekly meme comes from The Story Siren.

All images come from Goodreads.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

In My Mailbox: Spring Book Exchange

For the Spring Book Exchange, I received not two but three books from the amazing Jen at Not Now...I'm Reading! All of these books have been on my wishlist for a long time, so I was super excited to receive:

In the Woods by Tana French

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simmer

In My Mailbox 4/8-4/15

For review (here and on Bookloons):

Scandalous! by Hallie Fryd

Adam Orser by Daniel Armand

It's Our Prom (So Deal with It) by Julie Anne Peters

Purity by Jackson Pearce

Won:

Escape by Barbara Delinsky

A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

The Realms Thereunder by Ross Lawhead

What Kind of Love? by Sheila Cole

The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon

This weekly meme comes from The Story Siren.

All images come from Goodreads.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza WINNER!

Rafflecopter has spoken and a big congrats go out to...

Nicole S.!

Email has been sent. Winner has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Darkest Evening of the Year

Title: The Darkest Evening of the Year

Author: Dean Koontz
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 978-0-553-58912-2
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: Mystery & Suspense, Book Blogger Recommendation, Chunkster, Dean Koontz, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: At times the suspense was so great that I didn't want to stop readings. However, especially at the beginning, the animal scenes were so heart-wrenching, that I had to keep putting the book down.

Rating: 3 stars

Monday, April 9, 2012

My Bad!

Title: My Bad!

Author: Rize Shinba
Publisher: June
ISBN: 978-1-56970-050-1
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Graphic Novels, 100 Books in a Year

Thoughts: This is just an average collection of yaoi stories by Shinba. All of the stories are standard yaoi format, with "Miracle Voice" being the only real standout, but not by much.

Rating: 3 stars