My thoughts on: Shift (Shade #2) by Jeri Smith-Ready

Shift (Shade #2)
by Jeri Smith-Ready

Published May 3rd 2011 by Simon Pulse

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.
Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura’s search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural

Publication Date: May 3rd 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Hardcover, 367 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Won from giveaway

____________________________

WARNING!!! There might be spoilers ahead. As a matter of fact, there are SOME.

I won this copy on a giveaway sometime last year. I then purchased a copy if the first book in the series, Shade, which I promptly read and loved. However, I somehow became very busy with college and review books and kept forgetting to read Shift. Last week I finally forced myself to get to it already. LOL. I quickly reread Shade and cracked the spine of this pretty baby... I gulped it all up in one afternoon.

I'm crazy about Logan. Truly am. So the minute his ghostly body became living flesh for a short period of time, I was all "YAAAAAAAY!!! He's BACK! Finally we're gonna have some action." Nah. It was another almost for Aura and Logan. Zach totally won this round. LOL.

I love Zach, too, don't get me wrong. His accent, kilt and green eyes are all very dreamy... but I can't resist a bad boy. Especially a rockstar. :P Oh, and Zach can be very cold sometimes... and not all these times are Aura's fault.

Anyway, Shift starts with Logan still as a runaway Shade. Aura keeps trying to call him back, and, after 3 months, he finally appears. Aura then manages to bring him back to normal ghost state, again. Then the solstice/flesh and blood momentarily thing happens and they almost have at it... but not. Logan becomes very excited about the prospect of being 'alive' again and starts to plan a final final performance (again) the next time he turns human. He can't wait to play his guitar one last time.

Aura is torn between living, breathing, tempting Zach, and sort-of living, but still dead, Logan. Zach is also at his limit, and he makes it very clear to Aura. She needs to choose already.

After a misunderstanding between them, Zach ends up asking Aura's nemesis, Becca Goldman, for the prom. And Aura has the brilliant idea of asking Dylan, Logan's younger brother, who has a serious crush on her.

The love triangles are clearly very strong in this book, and so are Aura's indecisions and screw-ups. She continuously decides to let go of Logan, but every time something reinforces how much he loves her, she's not sure what to do. Zach also keeps sends her some very mixed signals...

All the while, the DMP investigations continue as Aura and Zach get closer and closer to revealing her mother's secrets and unveiling the Last/First mystery, with the help of Eowyn. We finally see what happened on the day of the Shift, we finally understand how they were the only ones to be born in those minutes... and who Aura's father is. Now we just need to know what exactly the Shine was, and why the DMP are working so hard trying to detain them.

Shift was a lovely read, even if sometimes it made my head spin. LOL. But that's love: confusing, indecisive, hot then cold... it's just that the ending was so 'perfect', and filled me with such a sense of 'completion', that I am not sure a third book was really necessary. I mean, all my questions were answered (well, all the important ones) and it's very clear who Aura'll end up with... anyway, I'll still check Shine out, but I'm very satisfied with the way things ended in Shift. :)

If you like complicated YA love stories with paranormal twists to it, then you'll love this series.

Teaser Tuesday #40

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as 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 any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

I'm sure we wore the same sick, horrified expression: the situation that had already been as wretched and heartbreaking as it possibly could be had just gotten worse..

Luc was one of them.

Balefire (Balefire #1-4), (A Chalice of Wind, chapter 21, page 243)
by Cate Tiernan

Oh, wow! Turns out I really dig Cate Tiernan! And here I thought I wasn't much of a fan of witch stories... there's always an exception, I guess. ;)
_______________________________

What is your teaser this week?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #41

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I'm Currently Reading:


Finished:


DNF:

I had no idea this was another Twilight fanfic... >.>

Last Reviews posted:
Quickie Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack
Review: Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1) by Jackson Pearce
Review: Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn

Next Reads:

Origin

______________

What are you reading this week?

Stacking The Shelves #31

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!

This new feature is hosted by Tynga from Tynga's Reviews.

This week I got:

From an online trade:

The River Knows

The Hunger Games

The Fiery Cross

Drums of Autumn

I also finally bought these, but didn't take a pic, so:

Catching Fire

Mockingjay

____________________

What did you get this week?

I want a bookshelf like this at home.

This shall one day be mine.

Quickie Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

Losing It
by Cora Carmack

Published October 12th 2012

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

Genre: New Adult, Adult, Contemporary

Publication Date: Oct 12th 2012

Publisher: the author

Format: ebook, 204 pages 

Series: no

Source: My Kindle

________________________________

My Review

With a title and cover like these, how could I possibly stay away from this book? Day-am. I got it as quickly as I could and, ignoring my pile of TBR books waiting in line to be read this year, set up to read it. Because I just couldn't wait.

Losing It was a lovely read. *-*

And, strangely enough, I don't know what much else to say about it. Wait, yes I can. It all comes down to this:

Garrick.

Tall, yummy, sexy, youngish, deliciously built, kind-hearted, blue-eyed, British-accented Garrick. 

I loved that guy. And so did the main character, Bliss, aka, the sacrificing Virgin.

My main issue with this book was that, after the first couple of chapters, things just became sort of unbelievable to me.

They met at the bar, had a lovely discussion about Shakespeare (be still my heart), and we could instantly see that they clicked, that the chemistry was there and was more than right, that they had so much in common, that things were starting to fall into place, that here was no love at first sight, but that it was obviously right around the corner, and that if only they gave it a try... but BAM. Bliss puts a stop to things right before she gives up her V-card to the perfect guy, Garrick. Even after promising she would give it up as soon as possible, regardless of the taker. 

I could not get past that. How could she not go through with it? She was comfortable in her skin, with what they were doing, she was comfortable with HIM and he was a perfect gentleman. What else could she want? So, okay, he was, technically, still a stranger. I just feel that a lot of trouble and unnecessary drama could have been avoided... but then again, if she had gone through with it, there would have been no book. :P

Bliss was sweet, but felt very immature and whiny to me, especially for someone just about to graduate from college. I liked her name, though. It wasn't overly common, nor was it too cheesy nor weird. Her friends were all very interesting characters, but the rest of the story could not hold my interest. I found myself flipping the pages on my Kindle to see what would happen after, and did not stop very often on my way to the ending, to be honest.

Well, what else can I say about this book that I read in fastforward mode? The hot scenes were pretty hot, I have nothing to complain about those AT ALL. There were some stereotypes from YA in the book that pissed me off, even if this is what people are now calling new Adult (I guess it's just a sort of grown-up, sexualized YA). The couple spent most of their time avoiding each other, then getting stuck in misunderstandings and hurting each other, then getting together again... that was annoying. Oh, and they didn't talk much, ergo, the misunderstandings. Also, the ending was almost too perfect, I think.

All in all, it was worth it for the steamy parts, but the rest really didn't work for me. But if you're looking for something fresh and light, this might be perfect for you.

Teaser Tuesday #39

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as 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 any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

"After seventy-two hours of gathering data, plotting flight trajectories, and analyzing theories, you have only one conclusion to offer me."

The imposing Scotsman was all but squirming in his brogans. "Aye, sir. The wee lass was ridin' a broom."

Breath of Magic (Lennox Family Magic #1)
by Teresa Medeiros, Mass Paperback Edition, page108.

_______________________________

I am LOVING this book. I'll be sure to add a review soon, so stick around. XD 

What is your teaser this week?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #40

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I'm Currently Reading:


Finished:

I LOVED Destroy Me. The book Glass was very intense and sad, but I enjoyed it like crazy, too. Oh, and I reread the first two books in The Mediator series (this time in English), one of my favorites.

DNFs:

I got tired of so many thirty-year-old virgin blondes...

Last Reviews posted:
Review: Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1) by Jackson Pearce
Review: Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn

Next Reads:

I'll have to write a review for this one soon, the poor thing. It has none on Goodreads. LOL.

______________

What are you reading this week?

Stacking The Shelves #30

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!

This new feature is hosted by Tynga from Tynga's Reviews.

This week I got:

From an online trade and local store:

A Breath of Eyre

This one really wasn't my cup of tea...

Sweet Evil

I enjoyed this book a LOT more than I thought I would! I really dislike the cover, but the story is pretty nice.

Angel's Blood

I heard good things about this one.

Desire Unchained

I LOVE Larissa Ione. It's like EVERYthing she writes gets closer and closer to perfection. ;)

____________________

What did you get this week?

Review: Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1) by Jackson Pearce

 

Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1)
by Jackson Pearce

Published April 5th 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: April 5th 2010

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Format: Paperback trade, 352 pages 

Series: sort of

Source: my own copy

__________________________

My Review

There are dozens of fairytale retellings out there. Maybe hundreds, I don't know, I'm too lazy to count. Anyway, what I mean is that after so many rewrittings/versions it can get kind of boring and even repetitive to read pretty much the same thing every time.

But Sisters Red is almost a whole new story. Sure, it's based on the Little Red Riding Hood tale, and it has a few things in common: the big, bad wolf, the dead grannie, the woodsmen, and even the walk in the forest with the food basket thingy... BUT in this version the Little Red Riding girls fight back. Yup, they kick some serious wolf ass. Heh.

This was my first Pearce book, and, boy, did she get it right! Her writing just flows, and when you least expect it, the book has ended! The characters are all very well-portrayed, very different from each other and from usual YA stereotypes. Even the younger sister, Rose, who had many weak and girly and romantic moments managed to suck it up and save herself, killing a handful of monsters while doing so. I really can't recall the last book I read in which a heroine saved herself by herself. O.o They usually have at least a little help or are next to completely helpless. Loved that! And, oh, boy, oh, boy, were those Fenris guys (wolves?) hot. It was no surprise those silly Dragonflies (as the main character called those clueless, pretty little girls who made themselves into perfect victims in the night) were drawn to them. I guess we all love to flirt with danger sometimes... even more when it's in the shape of attractive young men.

Oh, and one of our MCs, the older sister, Scarlett (love the name), was a tough cookie from the start. The girl killed her first wolf when she was just a child! For that she received many scars, on the inside and on the outside. The poor thing lost an eye and had half her face disfigured, along with her arms and most of her body. But that doesn't stop her from hunting. No, siree. Scarlett was the most adult and, well, simply the most different character I have found in YA until now. She doesn't care about love, friends, school or her appearance. All she cares about it hunting down and killing as many Fenris/wolves as she possibly can. That is her whole life, what drives her and completes her. That and her little sister, Rose. Oh, and her childhood friend, Silas.

But things get weird when Rose and Silas start to fall for each other... and start to want to hunt a little less and spend some more time alone, just doing... uh, nothing much. Scarlett cannot possibly understand that, especially when they have been so busy looking for the Potential to try and lure the Fenris close enough to kill them all. Oh, and talking about the Potential... that was the worst possible level of 'I've seen it coming from the start, how more obvious could it be', but even that didn't stop me from enjoying the book.

What ruined a lot of my glow was the ending. Keep reading if you don't mind a little bit of spoiler.

.

.

.

.

.

How could the author send the pretty boy, who used to like the scarred girl for who she was and despite what she looked like ever since they were little kids, off to live happily ever after with the perfect sister and leave the scarred one all by her lonesome??? That was just... heartbreaking! Does she not deserve some love, too? Could she not learn to care for something more than just hunting? SHE NEEDED TO GROW IN THAT SENSE!!! She needed more in her life and you gave her no chance! :((

Well, drama and disappointments aside, this one is still a keeper. Why? Because the plot was very clever, the cover is beautiful and interesting all by itself and I can always change the ending in my head. LOL.

Dr. Seuss, more clinically

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #39

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey. 

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I'm Currently Reading:


Finished:

Last Reviews posted:
Review: Everything and the Moon by Julia Quinn
Review: Eve (Eve #1) by Anna Carey

Review: Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid #1) by Richelle Mead
Mini-Review: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Next Reads:

______________

What are you reading this week?