In My Mailbox #12

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Bought:
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn
Worldshaker by Richard Harland

That's what I got this week! What books did you get this week?

Review: Pure by Julianna Baggott

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . . There are those who escaped the apocalypse unmarked. Pures. They are tucked safely inside the Dome that protects their healthy, superior bodies. Yet Partridge, whose father is one of the most influential men in the Dome, feels isolated and lonely. Different. He thinks about loss-maybe just because his family is broken; his father is emotionally distant; his brother killed himself; and his mother never made it inside their shelter. Or maybe it's his claustrophobia: his feeling that this Dome has become a swaddling of intensely rigid order. So when a slipped phrase suggests his mother might still be alive, Partridge risks his life to leave the Dome to find her. 
When Pressia meets Partridge, their worlds shatter all over again.From goodreads.com

I honestly don't know what to say about this book. I started reading it on a snow day right after lunch and when I was a couple hundred pages into it I looked up at the clock and realized I should probably stop reading because I still had homework to do. It really sucked me in and I lost track of the time when I was reading it.

Pure tells the story of a very disturbing future. It was disturbing, but I couldn't help but feel fascinated by it. I couldn't stop reading until I learned all of the details of what had led up to this post apocalyptic society.

I honestly wasn't the biggest fan of Pressia though. Sure I felt sympathetic to her but there was no real connection. Sometimes I preferred reading Pressia's story over Partridge's though, as his tended to drag on. I really loved Lyda and Bradwell though. I felt like Bradwell was always kind of shrouded in mystery and that made him interesting. I also enjoyed Lyda's part of the story because I found that to be really interesting.

Pure is overall, a pretty amazing book with some surprising twists and turns that will keep you hooked from page one. I give it 7/10.

In My Mailbox #11

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

What I got for my birthday:
Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber
Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver

From the Ambuzzador program on randombuzzers.com:

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

That's what I got this week! What lovely new books did you get this week?

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

From goodreads.com 

I absolutely LOVED  this book. I honestly don't read very many books like this, but I think I might want to start reading more! I loved how Echo and Noah were both so against so much as even working together at first, but as they work to get what they want they ended up falling in love. I liked that the romance wasn't rushed and seemed to be paced perfectly. It wasn't one of those "love at first sight" situations, it was a lot more gradual and that made it a lot cuter.

I also really liked the characters themselves. It was very easy to be sympathetic to them (I would say to relate to them, but I've never been through anything like what they have gone through). I really enjoyed getting to know both Echo and Noah in this book. I also loved Noah's relationship with his little brothers. It made him a lot easier to like because at first we just see him as this big jerk who does things that might make you respect him less, but then we see everything that's wrong with his life and how much he loves his little brothers and it just made my heart melt. It was adorable.

So, overall, all I can really say is that I liked this book way more than I was expecting to. I think I finished it within about two days and I read it right around Christmas and was just coming out of a reading slump so that's really saying something. I just absolutely loved this book. I give it 9/10.

Review: Seven Sorcerers by Caro King

Nin had never liked Wednesdays, but this one took the biscuit. On this Wednesday she woke up to find that it was raining buckets and that her brother had ceased to exist. Ninevah realises she is the only person to remember Toby because whoever took him is about to make her disappear too. Enter Skerridge the Bogeyman, who steals kids for Mr. Strood. With his spindle, he draws all memories of Nin out of her mother's head. Nin escapes to the Drift, the world that her new friend Jonas and Mr. Strood inhabit. But the Drift is filled with the fabulous and the dreadful; tombfolk, mudmen, and the spirits of the seven sorcerers who once ruled the land. What is the secret of the Seven Sorcerers, and will Nin and Toby escape their fate at the House of Strood?

From goodreads.com 

I really wanted to like this book. It just sounded so good and when I started reading it I was still coming out of a bit of a reading slump so I was hoping it might help. However, I just couldn't get into it. I actually put it down for a couple of weeks at one point and then came back to it and had to force myself to read more of it because I had only read a few chapters before putting it down for a couple of weeks. It did get better when I had read more of the book, but it still just wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. However, I did eventually get to a point where I wasn't forcing myself to read it and actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would based on how long it took me to get into it. So, I have kind of mixed feelings about this book.

I did find Nin to be a very entertaining character. She's so much tougher than you ever would expect her to be when you first start reading the book. She will do anything to get her brother back and it really almost makes her seem kind of stubborn. I felt like she had an interesting personality and I really did love the way she thought and talked. I also found myself really liking Skerridge (I think he might have been my favorite character in the book) and any of his interactions with Nin. I think I found Skerridge's story line to be the most interesting one in this book.

I also thought it was really interesting to see a place like the "Drift" in a state of decay rather than the way places like that are usually portrayed in books. I think it made it a lot more interesting. Although it did take me a while to get into it, Seven Sorcerers ended up being  a fun, entertaining read filled with adventure and magic. I give it a 6.5/10.

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon Day 3 Update

So, I was able to meet my goal, but by the time I got there I was ready to just relax and take a break, and it was getting to be kind of late. Anyway, I did read Hourglass today.

This means that throughout the entire thing I was able to read three books: Saving June, Crusade, and Hourglass. I think I'll call that pretty good for my first read-a-thon. Hopefully during the next one I'll get more  books read.

Once Upon a Read-a-Thon: Days One and Two

On day one, I finished reading Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks.
On day two, I read Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones by R.A. Salvatore and then began reading Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover which I will finish on day three.

The Reader Bee Challenge:

I'd have to say my most anticipated book is Nevermore by James Patterson. I love the Maximum Ride series, and am sad to see it come to an end. Can't wait to see how he'll end it though.