Book Signing: Brandon Mull

My kids, hubbie and I had a great time at the Brandon Mull book signing tonight. Hubbie was a "book signing virgin," so luckily Brandon was very entertaining and hubbie enjoyed himself. Brandon was an entertaining speaker to both the kids and the adults in the audience. I admit that we haven't read any of Brandon's books...yet. But I've been collecting them for my kids and now that my eldest son has met him, he looks forward to starting the Fablehaven series once he's done with the series he's currently reading.

Brandon Mull has quite a few books out there, including:

       

 

Fablehaven (a 5 book series)
Beyonders (2 books so far, the 3rd/last will be out in 2013)
The Candy Shop Wars (2 books so far, most recent was out this year)
Pingo and Pingo and the Playground Bully (illustrated children's books, not pictured)

My boys with Brandon Mull. They had a great time meeting him and he was very kind.

Aren't signed books a beautiful thing?

Book Review: Finale

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
October 23, 2012
Simin & Schuster
464 pages
Source: Personal Purchase

Goodreads Summary:

Fates unfurl in the gripping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush saga.

Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean they are fated to be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. Now Nora and Patch must gather their strength to face one last, perilous trial. Old enemies return, new enemies are made, and a friend's ultimate betrayal threatens the peace Patch and Nora so desperately want. The battle lines are drawn—but which sides are they on? And in the end, are there some obstacles even love can't conquer?

My Review:

I admit, this book took me a while to get into. I don't know if I was just in a weird place or if it was the story. Perhaps mentally I'd hoped for a trilogy, so the rest of me wasn't ready to accept a 4th book. It took me a week to read half the book (I'm usually a much faster reader). Then I got to the halfway point and that turned a corner for me in the right direction. I'm avoiding spoilers, and I assume anyone reading this has already read the other books (because that's just silly to keep reading if you haven't, lol).

My main problem was that Nora was just annoying me, particularly in the beginning. I think it was a combination of things, but mainly her insecurities with Patch and her lack of leadership with the Nephilim. She should trust Patch by now and just get over herself. She's 17. It's okay to know that someone else knows something she might not. I also never completely bought her as Hank's replacement as leader. Let's just say it took me a while (hence the slow reading). But by the end, Nora had many redeeming qualities that I respected her for, and she grew on me.

As for Patch, I really liked him in this book. He was patient, focused, understanding, and dangerous. Not quite sure what he still sees in Nora, but whatever. I'll go with it. They did have some nice moments where I could see their chemistry. Eventually Nora won me over and I decided maybe she'd be worthy of Patch. And I was cheering for their HEA. Dante was super interesting and I loved all the twists and turns with him. I wish there was more Vee. She's so much fun. Scott was sweet and supportive. Just the kind of friend everyone should have.

The storyline went in odd directions and I wasn't sure where Becca was going with it at times. But that ended up working to her advantage, because there were many things I wasn't expecting and kept me guessing. I like that everything wasn't totally predictable. I also appreciate the ending, the bitter with the sweet.  There was a particular moment at the end that I thought was quite beautiful and well done. It really wrapped things up nicely for me. Of course I can't give details, but I was satisfied with how things ended.

So overall, a slow start, but an enjoyable read and satisfying series conclusion.

4 STARS

Wishlist Wednesday (1): Endlessly

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop, hosted by Pen to Paper, where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves. For more info on this meme, go here.

My choice this week is Endlessly by Kiersten White. I loved the first two books and can't believe I haven't gotten my hands on this last book yet. Evie is such a fun character and I want to know how her story ends. My goal is to get to this book before the year is over. If you haven't started this series, the first book is Paranormalcy, and it is a great read.

Goodreads Summary:

Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.

So much for normal.

"Waiting on" Wednesday (3): Dirty Red

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

If you haven't read The Opportunist, you can find my review here. It is a book that truly tormented me emotionally but I could not put it down. Well, if that wasn't enough, the sequel Dirty Red is coming out and I am very nervous but very curious about where Tarryn will take her seriously messed-up characters next.

Dirty Red (Love Me With Lies #2)
by Tarryn Fisher
Expected Publication Date: December 28, 2012

From Goodreads:

Dear Opportunist,

You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever.

Dirty Red

Book Review: The Opportunist

The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
November 14, 2011
429 pages
Source: Personal Purchase

Goodreads Summary:

Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

My Review:

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the emotional roller coaster this book put me through. I had to stay up into the late hours of the evening because I could not put it down. This book scoops you up, then smacks you around, shakes you, and leaves you gasping on the side of the road, bleeding and broken. Caleb & Olivia's story of love, deception, and consequences is pure emotional torture at its best. I have to admit, most of the book I didn't even really like either of them. The...moreAAfter AI am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the emotional roller coaster this book put me through. I had to stay up into the late hours of the evening because I could not put it down. This book scoops you up, then smacks you around, shakes you, and leaves you gasping on the side of the road, bleeding and broken. Caleb & Olivia's story of love, deception, and consequences is pure emotional torture at its best. I have to admit, most of the book I didn't even really like either of them. Their relationship was so chemically imbalanced. Olivia's deceptive personality was flat-out aggravating, and even evil at times. Caleb was so smooth and confident, yet such a glutton for punishment and sneaky in his own right. Caleb & Olivia truly drove me crazy. As for Leah, well I felt a bit sorry for her but really, she was pretty crazy. And Noah, well what's not to love about Noah. I just hope things turn out for him better than I fear. By the end of the book I was a wreck. I looked gratefully at my husband (who was soundly asleep since I finished the book way after I should have gone to bed) and thanked God that we have an honest relationship and I'm married to my first true love. Then I cried and prayed that he'll live a long life with me. I say, keep the drama to the books and not in my real life! After I've reread some of the more hopeful parts (I didn't say super hopeful, just more hopeful) toward the end of the book (because I need my mind to be in a better place than this emotional torture), I come to find out that there's going to be another book. What?! And then a third book after that. Double What?!?! I'm not sure if I'm excited or realizing that I'm about to be placed in another emotional punching bag for Ms. Fisher to torment me again. I'd come to grips with the ending already. Why must she torture me so?? But, of course, stupid me will fall right into her trap and read the books anyway. If you love pure drama and don't mind truly jacked up characters, then this is the series for you.   5 EMOTIONAL SCARS... I MEAN STARS

Top Ten Tuesday (1): Completed YA Series...

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  

For more information and a list of past and future topics, go here.

Top Ten (or Twelve) Completed YA Series I Haven't Started Yet
(But want to...soon...especially since I own most of them):

      

    

1. Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

2. Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness

3. Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong

4. Evernight by Claudia Gray

5. Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

6. Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore

     

      

7. Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

8. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

9. Matched by Ally Condie

10. Need by Carrie Jones 

11. Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking

12. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Teaser Tuesday (3): Sweet Evil

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser comes from Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins. I've had many people recommend this book to me. It's my current read and I'm loving it so far.

"I know what we are now." I wished my voice weren't shaky.

"Congratulations." He stood over me for a second more, savoring his power, no doubt, and then walked away, tossing the knife in the general direction of the dartboard and hitting the bull's-eye.

(from page 95)

Amazon Summary:

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 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?