Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 84

1,000 Followers Giveaway!

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT.

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.

MY LIFE IS A NOTEBOOK HAS HIT 1,000 FOLLOWERS!

When I started this blog, I had HOPES that someday I’d hit this number, but when I started out the numbers went up REALLY slow. I started to stop letting that bother me and just work on writing and reading and having fun, because blogging is supposed to be about the numbers. But now that day has actually come. 1,000 followers. Wow.

I know there are a bunch of bigger blogs out there and that 1,000 isn’t as much of a milestone to some of you, but it really is to me so thank you guys SO MUCH for helping me reach this point.

I WOULDN’T BE HERE WITHOUT YOU.

On that note, I decided to put it up to a vote about which books you guys would win from my celebratory giveaway. The answer was, overwhelmingly:

THE PARANORMALCY SERIES BY KIERSTEN WHITE!

So here we go, guys! Click HERE to enter – just remember the giveaway is US only and ends September 30th at 11:59 PM. Sadly, I couldn’t open this up internationally because I’m now a broke college kid, but I have some international ones coming up, promise!

Stacking the Shelves #7

Welcome to My Life is a Notebook’s 7th Stacking the Shelves – The College Edition! That’s right, I’m firmly ensconced in my first year of college and whooooo boy! That sophomore level class as a first semester freshman was a bad idea. BUT ANYWAYS! Let’s talk books!

Bought:

Beloved by Toni Morrison ~ Goodreads

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson ~ Goodreads

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engel ~ Goodreads

Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy ~ Goodreads

Ammonite by Nicola Griffith ~ Goodreads

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman ~ Goodreads

Sabriel by Garth Nix ~ Goodreads

Back to the Books Giveaway Hop!

YES! It’s time for another giveaway hop! This one is hosted by I’m a Reader, Not a Writer and Buried in Books. Almost 250 blogs are participating, so DON’T miss out! A list of those guys is right HERE.

So what am I giving away? WELL–

I’m giving away the entire Heir Chronicles trilogy by Cinda Chima Williams! I really loved these books, and apparently Cinda has signed a deal with Hyperion for two more, so I thought this was a perfect time to celebrate!

The Warrior Heir (Goodreads) ~ The Wizard Heir (Goodreads) ~ The Dragon Heir (Goodreads)

#1 is in paperback, #2 and #3 are in hardback. If you’re interesting in entering, click HERE. Please note the giveaway is US only.

ARC Review: “League of Strays” by L. B. Schulman

League of Strays by L. B. Schulman

Goodreads | Amazon

When Charlotte Brody, a lonely 17-year-old student at a new school, receives an invitation to join The League of Strays, she’s intrigued by the group’s promise of “instant friendship.” The League does provide companionship–and even a love interest–but Charlotte grows increasingly uncomfortable with its sinister mission to seek revenge against the bullies of Kennedy High.  When escalating acts of vengeance threaten to hurl her down a path of remorse, Charlotte must choose between her new friends and the direction of a future she’s never fully considered.

3 stars

This review is of an ARC received from NetGalley. This book will be released October 1, 2012.

There is one reason and one reason only that this book escapes with a 3 star rating:

I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt that it was SUPPOSED to be this utterly creepy.

I hope you will get used to the word, because it’s going to be around a lot. Hell, it was in HALF of my Goodreads status updates. There was not a page in this book that didn’t make my stomach twist, and I’m still not sure it was in a good way. To be fair, thinking back on it, there was nothing particularly fast-paced or over the top anywhere within the pages. The hijinks the group got up to and the creeptastical things that were done were utterly and completely feasible. I think that made it creepier.

As a narrator, Charlotte is completely lackluster. She is one of those “good” girls who does everything her parents tell her. The entire reason she is invited to join the League of Strays is, as League founder Kade says, she is SUCH a goody two shoes and she needs to learn how to make her own decisions. Except for, until the end, she doesn’t. She just accepts what Kade says and does what he tells her to, blindly, just like she does with her parents. She worries a lot, but she never acts on her feelings, even when you’re screaming “CHARLOTTE YOU’RE AN IDIOT” at the page.

Uh, I totally didn’t do that. >.>

The novel finds its creepiest element in Kade, the founder of the League. From the second this guy popped into the picture, I was uneasy. The way that he thinks and acts CREEPED ME OUT. Worse, though, was his relationship with Charlotte. Clearly, this guy is bad news, but she’s like “Oh, he’s suspected of stalking, shoplifting, assault and basically all other sociopathic tendencies? Well, clearly, if he says he didn’t do it he didn’t because GOD HE’S SO HOT.”

No, Charlotte, no.

Unfortunately, Schulman did a fantastic job of making us a little unsure of who was really telling the truth between the school principal who had it in for Kade and Kade himself. After all, Richie was being beat up for being gay and Kade seemed to be the only one defending him. But still. There is ABSOLUTELY NO DENYING the amount of HELL-NO CREEPY oozing off Kade.

I say without pause that this book just definitely wasn’t for me. I avoid creepy books like the plague because I hate reading them. I also couldn’t stand the fact that Charlotte refused to make any of her own decisions, and of course hell-no relationships usually lead me to rant and rave in all CAPS. (Did you not see my review of Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey? Seriously.) However, technically, Kade never did anything bad to Charlotte. He was just manipulating the crap out of her and everybody else.

I have no idea how someone could read that synopsis and not know they were getting into something dark and creepy, but…since I did, I do have to say: if you are not looking for a book that can be summed up by CREEPY, run away. If you want a book with a unique premise and 288 pages of gut twisting without any fantastical or outlandish pretenses, however, then this is so totally for you.

Review: “Sweet Evil” by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1) by Wendy Higgins

Goodreads | Amazon

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

3 1/2 stars

There are some books that you hear so many amazing things about that just entirely disappoint you. For me, Sweet Evil was one of those.

That’s not to say I didn’t like this book. Three and a half stars is somewhere between I liked it and I loved it. That’s not a bad rating. But the thing is that–after all the hype I heard about this book–I expected it to be absolutely amazing. For me, it never really hit that point.

The character of Anna is okay. I never really like her, I never really hate her. She, like many other female YA protagonists, is mediocre as far as characterization goes. Her insta-love with Kaiden was, of course, her first strike against her for me. It was less grating then some other instances I’ve seen, but there’s still no denying what it was. She also seemed too quick to bend to her father’s will, when he basically told her to change everything about herself to become more demonic. While I understand the why somewhat, her utter lack of resistance made her feel very weak.

The character of her adoptive mother also got on my nerves. She is way too accepting of everything that goes on. Anna just dumps ALL the information about the angels and demons on Patti and Patti is just like, “Yeah, I still love you and I totally accept all of this!” At least a little bit of conflict would have been nice to see there. I, at least, wouldn’t have just accepted all that craziness without screaming and waving my arms around like a demented chicken for a while.

Speaking of information, there was a LOT of it in this book. The mythology was extremely interesting and unique, and I absolutely loved the premise. However, there was far too much infodumping everywhere, especially under the guise of Anna not knowing everything and characters have to explain every facet of life to her. You guys may have heard that I attended a writing workshop back in July, and this was a big topic of discussion of something not to do that much. Having all throughout the book bothered my editor senses to no end.

Now, let’s talk about Kaiden. Oh good lord of all things sexy. …that’s basically Kaiden, actually. I was promised all of the sexy, and I got ALL OF THE SEXY. He got more round as the book went on, actually, but he didn’t start out that way. He’s certainly the usual I AM THE BROODIEST kind of guy, but I forgive him because HELLO! (…by the way, this book comes with a PG-13 rating. For definite.)

But then, of course, because we can’t leave out a cliché, there’s a love triangle. Well, at least, I think it’s a love triangle. They bring in Kope about halfway or further into the book, and all of a sudden he’s awkwardly into Anna. And Anna is sort of into him, even though she’s still mooning over Kaiden. (I think.) This was one of the most awkwardly written love triangle introductions ever.

I know this sounds overly critical (again), but that’s just how I roll. Overall, from what I expected from this book, I was fairly disappointed. It was a fun way to pass a few hours, but it didn’t blow me away.  I had a lot of issues with the characterization, mostly, because I’m a very character focused person. I adored the concept, but the infodumping had me skimming in places. It was an enjoyable ride, but certainly not what I expected.

Waiting on Wednesday #22

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!

Title: Carnival of Souls(Click for Goodreads)

Author: Melissa Marr

ETA: September 4th, 2012

Summary from Goodreads: In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures–if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father–and every other witch there–fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it’s only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and “Graveminder,” comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one’s own destiny.

Why I’m Waiting: I’m curious, did you read the blurb? Because than this question because obselete. READ THAT. SEE THE COVER. I’ve been hearing so much hype about this one, and I CANNOT wait to see what Marr does with this ridiculously unique idea.

Cover Reveal: “Vengeance Bound” by Justina Ireland

ARE? YOU? READY?

It’s time for another cover reveal, guys! (As hosted by A Tale of Many Reviews.) I am SO excited about this one. The novel, Vengeance Bound, is due out from Simon and Schuster on April 2nd, 2013, and the story looks a little like this…

The Goddess Test meets Dexter in an edgy, compelling debut about one teen’s quest for revenge…no matter how far it takes her.

Cory Graff is not alone in her head. Bound to a deal of desperation made when she was a child, Cory’s mind houses the Furies—the hawk and the serpent—lingering always, waiting for her to satisfy their bloodlust. After escaping the asylum where she was trapped for years, Cory knows how to keep the Furies quiet. By day, she lives a normal life, but by night, she tracks down targets the Furies send her way. And she brings down Justice upon them.

Cory’s perfected her system of survival, but when she meets a mysterious boy named Niko at her new school, she can’t figure out how she feels about him. For the first time, the Furies are quiet in her head around a guy. But does this mean that Cory’s finally found someone who she can trust, or are there greater factors at work?

As Cory’s mind becomes a battlefield, with the Furies fighting for control, Cory will have to put everything on the line to hold on to what she’s worked so hard to build.

SERIOUSLY? THIS SOUNDS SO COOL. Ahem. Anyways. (But you know it does. Seriously.) ARE YOU READY FOR THIS COVER?

*****

****

***

**

*

Goodreads | Amazon | Indiebound

I don’t know about you guys, but this is being added on to my Goodreads RIGHT FREAKING NOW!

Blog Tour: “Amateur Angel” by Karri Thompson

Welcome to my stop of the Amateur Angel Blog Tour! I’m really excited to share this book with you guys, and take part in this event! Before we head into my review, let me tell you a little bit about Karri!

As a first-time author, I cannot express- not even in words- how excited I am about the release of my debut novel, Amateur Angel.  It took a lot of hard work and sleepless nights.  There were many disappointments and rejections along the way, but in the end, my persistence and determination eventually paid off.  In many ways, I think writing a novel is easier than finding an agent to represent it and then a publisher to buy it.  Two years ago, I almost gave up on my dream to become an author, but then my son, Kyle, wrote a special poem for me, and it inspired me to write a new book and try again.  The new book was Amateur Angel.

Here is his poem:

        You fail and you fail,

        You fix and you fix,

        You wait and you wait,

        Until you succeed.

I hung this poem in my closet and read it every day when I was getting ready to go to work and each night before I went to bed.  It is still there and always will be.  I know what I’m about to say will sound like a cliché, but based on my own personal experience, the best advice I can give anyone is to always believe in your abilities, hold your head high, swallow your pride, accept criticism and then learn from it, and most importantly, never give up. I grew up in San Diego County and attended San Diego State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in education, and my teaching credential.  I am a high-school English teacher in the East County of San Diego where I also live with my husband, our son, and two dogs. Being a lover of Victorian literature, my favorite author is Charles Dickens although I haven’t quite finished reading all of his books.  Someday I’ll finally finish David Copperfield- I promise.  If you are one of my students, you are either laughing or shaking your head at this. I lead a very busy life, but when I’m not teaching, grading papers, or attending my son’s soccer games, I find time to write novels, my greatest passion.

-

Amateur Angel by Karri Thompson

Goodreads | Amazon

Only 18-years-old, Ashley is no ordinary teenager. Not only is she dead, but upon her death, she mistakenly enters the wrong line in the afterlife, a line meant for trained, guardian angels. With a pair of wings on her back, Ashley is sent to Los Angeles to replace another angel whose “assignment” was none-other-than Cannon Michaels, a current member of the band Sendher, the sexiest man alive, and Ashley’s celebrity crush in life.

While exposed to Cannon’s selfish, judgmental behavior and his reckless, rock-and-roll lifestyle, Ashley is far from meeting the requirements of a true guardian angel. She misses her family and friends. Will she ever be able to accept her own death? What will she do when she jeopardizes her position as an angel and Cannon’s physical safety by falling in love with him?

These days, when you hear a book is about angels, you’re thinking fallen angels almost immediately.

That’s not what this book is. And that’s a good thing.

Our main character is an angel, but she’s hardly a fallen one. Instead, this book tackles a realm of angels I, at least, have never read one YA book about: guardian angels. That right there was refreshing enough to dedicate me to the story.

It was a good thing, too, because if you’re a person who cuts off books after a certain point, you might not have made it through the beginning. This book begins with a few jarring leaps of faith and Ashley not being too connectable. Once that part is past, though, the book settles into a fun ride and Ashley starts calming down. (To be fair, she’s dead and is now responsible for making a guy be not dead with no idea how. I’d whine a little too. )

It was really fun reading about Ashley acclimating to her new powers. A few too many things were left unexplained for me, but at the same time there were a couple of peoples’ guardian angels who popped in to do some explaining for me. Though these could have easily turned into infodumping moments–because these interactions were so brief and needed to give out a lot of information–they were consistently broken up by living world drama and the fact that the guardian angels have to stay within ten feet of their humans. Cannon wasn’t exactly a social guy, and even when people were there they didn’t want to stay long. Ashley was legitimately left to figure out a lot on her own.

One thing I really wish is that Cannon Michaels had been fleshed out more. I felt like I didn’t see enough of Cannon’s “good” side to justify Ashley falling so deeply in love with him. There were a lot of little details there that could have been something bigger, but I didn’t feel like they connected into a bigger picture.

Though I can’t say much about the end, of course, I can say that it left me with all of the feelings. I have no idea what will happen in the sequel–because there HAS to be a sequel, right?–because there are so many different ways this can be turned. The door is wide open for a whole new adventure, and I really like that.

All and all, I found this book to be a light, fluffy read. It was a fresh idea and a fun, easy read. It lacked a little on the world building and characterization side, but since the book always kept rolling it didn’t seriously bother me. I didn’t expect the ending, and I certainly can’t tell you what’s coming next.

Stacking the Shelves #7

Hey guys! For today’s Stacking the Shelves I’m not doing a vlog, mostly because the only books I got this week were eARCs and so I’d rather show you guys the pretty covers right here!

From Edelweiss ~ Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer ~ Goodreads

From NetGalley ~ Cleopatra Ascending by Maureen Lipinski ~ Goodreads

From NetGalley ~ Ironskin by Tina Connolly ~ Goodreads

From NetGalley ~ Crewel by Gennifer Albin ~ Goodreads

From NetGalley ~ Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate ~ Goodreads

From NetGalley ~ The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski ~ Goodreads

ARC Review: “The Demon Catchers of Milan” by Kat Beyer

The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyer

Goodreads | Amazon

Mia’s ordinary life is disrupted in the most horrifying way possible when she is possessed by a hungry and powerful demon–and only saved by the arrival of relatives from Italy, the country her grandfather fled many decades ago. Now her cousins Emilio and Giuliano say the only way to keep her safe is for her to come back with them to Milan, to live, to learn Italian, to fall in and out of love, and to master the family trade: fighting all demons with the lore of bell, book, and candle. Milan is not what Mia expected, but it will change her forever, in this stunningly well-written novel about an American girl who, fleeing an ancient evil, finds her only salvation in her ancestral home.

1 1/2 stars

This review is based on an eARC received from NetGalley and EgmontUSA. The book will be released August 28th, 2012

This is the part of this job I really don’t like. I always try so hard to find one redeeming quality in every book I review, but with this one … I just can’t.

The 1 1/2 stars is for all the potential. I think that was also the most frustrating part. There were so many little, awesome details in this book that I felt were a set up for something E-P-I-C but then … nothing. Literally nothing really happened in this book at all.

To be honest, I shouldn’t have kept reading. But I did. Because I was so sure something huge was going to happen around the corner of each page. But it never did.

~Mild spoilers ahead~

I also hate doing reviews with spoilers, but on this one I can’t help but give out some mild ones to make my point. Starting at the beginning…

Mia goes to Milan after she’s been possessed by a demon. Her strange relatives arrive and save her. She is immediately attracted to Emilio … her cousin. Who has a girlfriend no one in the family likes, and who doesn’t like any of the females in the family. This plot tangent is never dealt with, only mentioned briefly.

Her relatives go on and on about how they can’t teach her about demon catching because than the demon will know everything she knows, but they tell her a whole bunch of stuff and let her help with exorcisms anyways. The demon knowing everything that she knows thing is never dealt with.

There are two incorporeal spirits in her room that only Mia can hear. They show up at random intervals for no particular purpose. Their presence is never explained nor explored.

Mia has a five second crush on a guy named Lucifero, a Satanist. He takes her out for coffee, gets possessed by her demon and then after that is sent to the hospital and disappeared off the face of the earth. He and his group–who tried to “infiltrate” her family a little earlier in the book–are never heard from again.

~Spoilers end~

What DOES happen in the book then, you ask? Pages upon pages of cooking, getting to know Mia’s HUGE family cast and Milanese history. Also, Mia talking like a teenager straight from a sitcom.

I really can’t adequately express my frustration with this book. I think it’s worse because I believed in this book SO MUCH despite SO MUCH evidence to the contrary. In the end, just when it seems like the book is about to get started, it ENDS. Just ENDS. With nothing much ever having happened in the first place.

When I was at my last writing workshop, I wrote a piece of flash fiction, and the critique was that it seemed like the real story began where I had written “The End.” That is exactly the problem with this novel. Beyer could have begun this series after this book says “The End,” summed up what happened here in a paragraph and had a much stronger novel. Though there will be a sequel to this book, I don’t believe I’ll be reading it.