Bound (Bound Trilogy #1) by Kate Sparks (Review)

This book gave me so many mixed emotions, but the majority were positive. I loved Rowan and Aren, they were so very lovely and deep as characters.  But there was far less intrigue and action then I would have liked. It’s romance factors were beautiful, and made me fall in love as well, but to take away some of the romantic limelight, I really noticed that it did not have truly satisfying conflict with the villains.  Adding to that, I believe there was some room for improvement in the backstory department. Aren definitely gets his limelight, but Rowan needed just a little more backstory on what it was like being raised in a culture where magic is destroyed and having her parents kept her, knowing she had the loathed magic, but did something to block her powers at the same time. They bound her, locking her magic down, and as you would expect, the overflow and pressure is killing her. The magic binding is obviously what inspired the title “Bound”.  Aren is a prince of a magical kingdom, who is definitely no knight in shining armor, and Rowan is a Bound sorceress in a culture that persecutes magic and anybody who has it. Needless to say, they are like Romeo and Juliet in the way that both their families and cultures hate each other with a passion. A violent passion. I personally enjoyed the book, so I’ll give it four stars!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Getting to know the authors: featuring Amalie Howard!

BIO

AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure. 22 countries, surfing with sharks and several tattoos later, she has traded in bungee jumping in China for writing the adventures she imagines instead. She isn’t entirely convinced which takes more guts.

 An aspiring writer from a young age, Amalie’s poem “The Candle,” written at age twelve, was published in a University of Warwick journal. At fifteen, she was  a recipient of a Royal Commonwealth Society Essay Award (a global youth writing competition). A Colby College graduate, she completed simultaneous Honors Theses in both French and International Studies, and graduated Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa. At Colby, she was cited for research and criticism in Raffael Scheck’s article, “German Conservatism and Female Political Activism in the Early Weimar Republic,” and his subsequent book, Mothers of the Nation.She also received a distinction in English Literature from the University of Cambridge (A-levels) as well as a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. Traveling the globe, she has worked as a research assistant, marketing representative, teen speaker and global sales executive.

 She is the author of several young adult novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, PW and Booklist, including Waterfell, The Almost Girl, and Alpha Goddess, a Spring 2014 Kid’s INDIE NEXT title. Her debut novel, Bloodspell, was an Amazon bestseller and a Seventeen Magazine Summer Read. As an author of color and a proud supporter of diversity in fiction, her articles on multicultural fiction have appeared in The Portland Book Review and on the popular Diversity in YA blog. She currently resides in New York with her husband and three children. She is represented by the Liza Royce Agency and is a member of SCBWI.

What has she written? 

She has written:

Bloodspell, Waterfell, The Almost Girl, Alpha Goddess, Oceanborn, Bloodcraft, SeaMonster , The Fallen Prince  

 

Now For The Interview!!

1)  How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

Even at a very young age, I was always scribbling some story or another into a journal. I remember writing a story about a young girl covered in magical tattoos when I was about nine. Talk about an active imagination!

2) What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

I hope that my books would provide my readers with a bit of escapism as well as an opportunity to learn about something new (for example, ALPHA GODDESS is about East Indian mythology).

3) What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

Get yourself out there and write regularly—hone your craft.

Take part in writing events like NaNoWriMo.

Learn to self edit (a book that really helped me sharpen my pencil was Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King).

 4) What is your favorite novel, why?

I have so many, but if I had to choose, I would say Lord of the Rings because the world building and the characterization are beyond epic.

5) Who is your favorite author, why?

J.K. Rowling. Not only does she tell a great story, she also overcame so much adversity on her route to publication. That's incredibly inspiring.

6) What are your favorite pass times besides writing?

I enjoyed watching movies and spending time with my family.

 7) Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

My mom. I never had all the toys I wanted, but I always got all the books I wanted, so I have my mother to thank for that. She always encouraged me to feel free to express myself and to explore my ideas (no matter how wild).

 8) What are the top five things on your bucket list?

Sky dive. Flip a house. Run a marathon. Learn to play the violin. See the Northern Lights.

9)What is your funniest childhood memory?

Pretending to astral travel when I was about eleven with my best friend. I can't help giggling every time I think about it.

 10) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

Be resilient, embrace challenges, learn from your mistakes, and be compassionate 

Black City by Elizabeth Richards (Review)

This book is definitely a painful read. Vampire apocalypses. Need I say more? This book, although with its interesting twists and turns, was a depressing and agonizing read.  It involves drug addicts, vampire ghettos, child torture, and other unhappy things.  If you want a happy go lucky romance, don’t even touch this book. It’s not terrible read, and it has beautiful romantic moments, but I felt like crap when I finally put down the book. In this novel, the vampire populations is oppressed and thrown into ghettos. They don’t like that, and the humans hate them. Their venom is like a drug to humans, and that is causing even more problems. With all this interspecies friction, it sets up a stage for a vampire Romeo (who sides as a drug dealer) and a human Juliet. While I give this book the respect it deserves, it only gets two stars.  I don’t really recommend it, it’s not that fun a read. Well, two stars is two stars.

The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass 0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas (Review)

Before I get to the story itself, I’d very much like to point out the epiceness of this cover. Holy cow this book cover trumps any other I have seen in many years. The drama and contrast caught my eye immediately and I simply had to read it. Now onto the review of the stories. This book is a compilation of five prologue-like stories of how Celaena Sardothien got to the point/position that she begins in, in the next book, Thrown of Glass. (Review to be written) It consists of fighting pirates, freeing slaves, falling in love, training in the desert, and so much more. I was a little sceptical about reading it at first, but as soon I started reading I fell in love. This book was a fairly long read, but I enjoyed exponentially nevertheless. It left me dying to start Thrown of Glass. Which I will be the moment I finish writing this review. This book deserves nothing less than five stars.  

Shadows on Snow by Starla Huchton (review)

 Yesyesyesyeysyeysyesy! Someone did it right! Finally! Somebody got it frigging right! Shadows on Snow has to be one of the only fairy tale remakes that I have every liked, much less fell in love with. It is so magical and fluid I didn't even notice time passing as I read. I started, then "Oh look, it been seven hours... well I can't stop now. Might as well finish the book" *happy shrug*. This book is definitely a gender swap, for all those who love those. The equivalent of Snow White is a dude, the hero is actually a heroine, the bad guy is the king, not the queen, and the seven dwarfs are replaced by seven witch sisters. It was like snow white in ways, but totally stood on its own merit at the same time. I now have much respect for Starla the author, now that she has done the impossible, gotten me to like anything associated with Snow White. I hate the story of Snow White, but Shadows on Snow was something else. Something better. Something I recommend every single one of you guys and gals read. Keep an eye out for Shadows on Snow as it will be published November 3rd 2014! I loved it so much, I give it the honored FIVE STARS!

Much thanks to Starla Huchton for allowing me to be one of the first to read this masterpiece. It was an honor. :)

Cinder and Ella by Kelly Oram (Review)

    *Slow clapping* Congrats Kelly, you have stolen my heart again. As you might know from my past reviews of Kelly Oram's books (links below) I simply love her writing. I had high expectations with her newest novel Cinder and Ella, and she did not disappoint. I was adamantly reading this book from page one of the prologue. Mainly because it tells of a teenage girl reviewer, which I obviously connect with... being one. Then goes on to tell of a tragedy that I will not spoil that had me crying like a baby. Cinder and Ella is a very modern love story in so many ways, but mainly because Ella and Cinder fall in love via email. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not just some lame mushy story, this book if full of nerdy quirks and tragic sad moments. But to its core, it just made me so happy to read, and brightened my day so much. I recommend this to all the nerds and happily ever after moment fans, because this book would be right up your ally.  I loved this book so much and was honored to be one of the first to read it. I give it a whopping FIVE STARS!!

Look out for October 2nd 2014 where I will be interviewing Kelly Oram and doing an awsome givaway! Spread the word!! 

Past reviews of Kelly Orams works:

More then Jamie Baker: http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/08/more-than-jamie-baker-by-kelly-oram.html

Being Jamie Baker: http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca/2014/04/being-jamie-baker-jamiebaker-1-by.html

Getting to Know the Authors: Featuring Lauren Oliver!

                                  Bio

  She was born in Queens and raised in Westchester, New York, in a small town very similar to the one depicted in Before I Fall. Her parents are both literature professors, and from a very early age, her sister and her were encouraged to make up stories, draw, paint, dance around in costumes, and essentially spend much of their time living imaginatively. Her house was old and full of art and towers and towers of books, and that’s still the kind of house she likes best.

   She started writing as a way of extending my love of reading; when she read a book I loved, she would continue to write sequels for it (she was inadvertently a fan fic writer, before “fan fiction” was even a term!). Later on, she began working on her own stories, and keeping company with a lot of imaginary friends.

   She pursued literature and philosophy at the University of Chicago, and then moved back to New York to attend NYU’s MFA program in creative writing. She simultaneously began working at Penguin Books, in a young adult division called Razorbill, and while there, she started work on Before I Fall. She left in 2009 to pursue writing full-time, and now she happily work in her pajamas every day.

 What has she written?

Vanishing Girls, Panic Origin Story, Rooms, The Spindlers, Liesl & Po, Before I Fall, Panic, Requiem (Delirium, #3), Pandemonium (Delirium, #2), Delirium (Delirium, #1)

Now on to the Interview!!

1)How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?

I've been writing pretty much every day since I was nine!

 2)What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?

I hope that they're entertained, and that they find something meaningful to them, whatever that may be.

 3)What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?

Read a lot, write a lot. I know that's only two, but it's the only advice that I have!

 4)What are your favorite pass times besides writing?

I love cooking, and reading, and dancing!

 5)Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?

I grew up in a very literary household.

 6)What are the top five things on your bucket list?

Go to Greece; Get a baby pig; Write a mystery; Buy my mom a car; Keep evolving my bucket list!

 7)What is your funniest childhood memory?

 I was so small growing up I used to fall in the toilet when I tried to use it and have to get fished out. Not sure whether it was funny at the time, but it certainly is now.

 8)To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?

You are so valuable, and the most valuable thing you have is your voice and your point of view and your difference. Don't try to be like anybody else. You are the only person who can be you, and you are therefore the rarest commodity on the planet!!

Dear readers,

     I, The Reader, author of The Not So Public Library, am informing you of what will be coming up during the next bit. Starting this week, I will be heading back to school and will have less time to read and review books. I will still being reviewing and posting, but at a slower pace. This will continue through the school year, and will return back to normal once my summer starts up again. 

     Also, I am informing you, the readers, that you can request book reviews. If you have a young adult book you want me to review before you read it, feel free to message me. In addition I will be trying to keep you informed of all things young adult. I do ask for patience because I do believe that my education comes first, so I will have substantially less time the blog and reading.

     You can look forward to an interview with Kelly Oram, in addition a big giveaway of Kelly Oram’s books. You can also look forward to reviews of the newest up and coming books and more author interviews and book announcements.

    Sincerely and all the best,

       The Reader

The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda (review)

     I simply hate it when a book does not deliver what its blurb and cover offers. In the case of The Hunt, the whole thing is a lie. The blurb and title tell you about a hunt, a hunt where vampires hunt the last of the humans as they fight to survive. Knowing that, you’d expect… you know, the actual hunt taking place in the book… kinda being the whole story because of the cover and blurb depicts. Well, it’s a lie. Until the last few pages, the entire book is the time before the hunt. The politics and the wait up to the hunt. There was action and cool moments, don’t get me wrong, but I kept waiting for the hunt to start. I was so very disappointed with its lack of delivery. I was impressed by the concept of a human living and hiding amongst vampires, and the character Gene is very complex and believable.

 All in all, this was an okay book that was not properly advertised. I don’t really recommend it, but I don’t think this book was a nightmare. I give it a middle rating of three stars.