writer's block

I usually don't read contemporary chick-lit-type books, but I actually thought this would be a nice little change after reading dramatic books for awhile. It seemed like was going crazy for this book and Stephanie Perkin's newest book, Lola and the Boy Next Door so I was curious about it. Luckily, I received both of them for my birthday.

I found the story of an average American teenage girl being shipped off against her will to a prestigious French boarding school to be a little cliche. In fact, a lot of it seemed like that.

There was possibly one thing in the whole book that surprised me, but everything else I seemed to have guessed early on.

But oddly enough, that's one of the reasons why I enjoyed this so much. New girl falls in love with all around hottest guy in school who so happens to have an English accent (bonus!) and taken (drama!). 

Though even with it's cliches, I never found it corny. I let myself enjoy the writing style Perkins has which reads so fluidly with charismatic characters like our title character and St. Clair.

Definitely not a book I would go swooning over, but overall a cute and honest story of girl meets boy in the most romantic city in the world.

Rating: ★★★★ 4/5 stars

This is book has got to be one of my favorites of the year and quite possibly of all time. It's setting and characters are so unique that I've found myself dreaming of worlds where angels and chimaera live.

Karou seems like an ordinary seventeen year old living in Prague... aside from the blue hair and the tattooed eyes on her palms. She has no clue who she is or where she came from and the only family she's ever known are the chimaeras- creatures that possesses features from multiple animals, that have raised her since she was a baby.

She's able to make wishes that come true- her blue hair was one and learning multiple languages so that she's able to travel and run errands for the father-like Brimstone or even petty wishes like making her naked ex itch like crazy in his privates... in public.

On one of her errands she encounters an angel, Akiva, who tires to kill her. She has no idea why and after a sudden altercation with Brimstone, Karou's father-like chimaera who deals with teeth and wishes, is left alone.

Even with a continuing war between angels and chimaera, Akiva can't help but be curious about Karou- this girl with the hamsas on her palms and the connection to the chimaeras. Karou finds that she is also drawn to Akiva... even if he did try to kill her.

The story flowed nicely and though I took me a lot longer to read this than I usually would have, it is no indication how I feel about it for it left me breathless and late for work.

I loved how Laini Taylor intertwined two worlds and her choice to have it set in Prague was brilliant! Such a beautiful old city that matches the darkness and romance of the story so wonderfully. Prague has now been bumped up on my "must travel to" list.

The mystery of Karou is one that I hardly saw coming, but welcomed it and it captivated me even further into this fantastical world. A world where wishes do come true and what you look like does not define you. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a bittersweet fairy tale that leaves you wanting to believe that there's hope not only in this world, but others.

Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Author: Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Claudia Gray, Rachel Vincent, Carrie Ryan, Sarah Rees Brennan, Jeri Smith-Ready, Kami Garcia, Mary E. Pearson, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jessica Verday, Jackson Pearce, Margaret Stohl, Kimberly Derting and Ally Condie
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Short Stories
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I love short stories and I've actually never read one that was paranormal based, so I'm excited to start this! I don't know many of the authors, but I've heard a lot of great things about this one and seeing as though I've been procrastinating with reading, short stories will be perfect!

From Strand Bookstore:
Author: Maureen Johnson
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery
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Hm... okay this was actually a book I got last week but forgot to add it to my IMM. I went through a Jack the Ripper faze when I was younger so I loved the concept of this! Oh and the cover is so nice! It has an opal effect to it which is so unique!
Title: Dearly, Departed
Author: Lia Habel
Genres: Young Adult, Steampunk, Zombies
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Okay, I swear my books this week are not all dark! I think I first heard about this when a lot of you were getting this as ARCs and I loved the cover! I've also never read a steampunk novel, but I've always loved the style/look of it all. If you've got some must-read steampunk, let me know!
Title: The Faerie Ring
Author: Kiki Hamilton
Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Faeries
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I don't know why I've been holding off on this one, but it was near Dearly, Departed and I was already picking up a lot that I just thought "what the heck."

I like the historical aspects of it which, in my opinion, usually makes the story all the more fun and intriguing.
Author: David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
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Squee! I love the concept of this and I don't know what took me so damn long to get it! And how fitting that the story begins at Strand (where I bought this)!

I probably won't start this until December so it coincides with the story, but I can't wait to start it!
Author: Theresa Flavin
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
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Honestly, I was drawn to the cover and upon skimming through the mostly positive reviews of this little-known book, I was intrigued and I was so happy to find it at Strand!
Author: Allan Wolf
Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
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I first saw this at BN, but for $22 I declined since I knew nothing about it other than the concept of it being a collective narrative of 24 characters while on the Titanic. Luckily, Strand is awesome with it's half off prices!

So after reading up on it, I was so fascinated by this and it's multiple formats- letters, verse, undertaker's notes and so on. An appropriate take on the matter and with the 100th anniversary of its fateful journey coming up, I'm sure it'll become a bigger hit as the time draws near.