WoW: Time

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it is a weekly feature where bloggers share what they are excited to read next.

This week's pick is:

Here is a summary from Goodreads:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...



Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?


Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.


Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

It comes out June 12th and I can't wait.  Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday: You Deceived Me

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

This week's edition is the top ten books that deceived you.

Here is my list:

This book was presented as a type of mystery novel and I was totally thrown for a loop when fairies started being involed.... Great book though!

From my review yesterday you might know that I totally though this book would be funny and not quite as serious as it was.  I don't know why I thought that but I did.

The cover of this book would lead you to believe that this novel has a lot of ballet things in it when in fact it does not have much. 

When this book came out there was a lot of talk about this cover.  It deceived me because I thought that it would be a nice light beach read when in fact, while quite good, it is pretty serious.

This book seemed to me like it would be in the realm of chick lit and I was pleasantly surprised to find it more in the realm of historical fiction.

Based on the cover of this novel you would think this is about a happy childhood.  It is not and is quite a disturbing book.  It's still one of my favourites though.

What deceived me about this book is the fact that it is by Alice Sebold (she wrote The Lovely Bones).  I was expecting greatness and was seriously let down with this one.

This is a book that was picked for a book club that I was in and when I saw the cover I thought that it would be the most boring book of all time.  That is not the case and I couldn't put this book down. 

This book looks like a fun light beachy type read.  It is not and I ended up putting this book down. 

Again I thought this would be more in the realm of chick lit but it was a little more serious than that.  Again another excellent book. 

Well those are mine.  I know a lot of them are adult books but maybe they will inspire some of you to go out and try a few of them.  Sometimes deception can be surprising but good.  Happy Reading!

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Publishing Date: September 7th, 2010
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 280 pgs
ISBN: 9780316084239
Source: my local library 

My Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: 
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

My Review:
This book is about a girl, Bianca, who is going through a pretty tough time in her life. Her mother had pretty much abandoned their family and then pretty much demands a divorce. This in turn begins a downward spiral for the father. While this going on, Bianca decides to deal with her frustrations and sadness by sleeping with a guy who has repeatedly called her the DUFF (the designated, ugly fat friend).
Just from the title of the novel, for some reason I expected this book to be funny. I am not sure why but I didn't expect it to be as serious as it was. For the most part I really enjoyed this novel. I really liked all of the characters and I really liked the plot line. I was a little shocked at how much sex was in the novel but it didn't make me dislike the book. In fact, I think in a way I liked it more because of it. Okay, let me explain that before you go thinking I'm a bit of a perv. I think that Keplinger doesn't hold back because her novel in a YA novel. Sometimes, in other YA novels you can tell the author held back in writing sex scenes or glosses over them when a big part of a being a teen is navigating through your sexual impulses. Things are new and hormones are high as a teen and I think that confuses many adolescents. It is something that is a big issue for teens and I think to gloss it over does nothing. I like that Keplinger doesn't hesitate to dive right into the deeper topics even though they may be a bit controversial.
My one complaint about the book is the way that alcoholism is depicted in the novel. I have grown up in a family where alcoholism runs rampant and I think that the way the father miraculously comes out of his alcoholism because of one incident (I'll admit a fairly traumatic incident) isn't how things would typically happen. In my experience, alcoholics are in denial for most of the time and even though really bad things may happen, many will refuse to admit to having a problem. Again, I think this may be my one complaint because it hits a little too close to home but I do remember being a teen and reading some books with this issue that is too easily resolved. I also remember thinking and desperately hoping that things can be that easily resolved in my life and feeling deeply disappointed when it wasn't. Again, this is all because of my personal experiences and I do not think the majority of people will be bugged by this.
Overall, this is a great book and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

In My Mailbox (29)

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

This is what I got in my mailbox this week:

For Review:

Thanks Netgalley!  I've already started this one and it's quite good.

I was very excited to get this from Netgalley!

Thank you Thomas Allen and Son!

From the Library:

I've already read this and loved it!

I can't wait to dig into this one

This book looks amazingly creepy

Bought at Chapters:

A bargain books find.. I've wanted to read this for a while.

Another bargain books find.. Only $6 for a hardcover.

My husband described this as The Hunger Games for adults so I thought I'd give it a try.

Well that's all I got in my mailbox, what did you get in yours?

Happy Reading!

Audio Book Review: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Publisher: Penguin Group
Publishing Date:May 11, 2004
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 374 pgs
ISBN: 9780142406250

My Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father.

But sometimes unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

My Review: 
I listened to this novel as an audio book and it is my second Dessen book on audio. I quite enjoyed this novel but I wouldn't say that it was my favourite book. I like this book because it was light and an easy-read. The main character, Macy, is dealing with the death of her father and has done so mainly by hiding out in her room studying or studying with her "boyfriend". Macy is basically just going through the motions of living at this point and it's not until she starts working for a catering company does she start to come out of her shell and really start dealing with her feelings about her father's death.
There were a few characters in this book that were infuriating. The girls that Macy works with at the library were just plain disgusting to treat someone like that. I also disliked Brian who seemed to only look at things through a logical lens rather than with his heart. At some points I kept thinking "Is this kid autistic?" but this could be because I work with children who have autism. I don't know it just seemed that way because he was so factual about things and he didn't seem to really have any strong emotions about things.
The book ended as predicted, happily and it was just the kind of book that I needed at the time. Overall, there were many things that I enjoyed about this book but it just wasn't my favourite. I have to give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

Review: This is a Love Story by Jessica Thompson

Publisher: Coronet
Publishing Date: February 2nd 2012
Genre: Chick Lit, Fiction
Pages: 440 pgs
ISBN: 9781444734218

My Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
This is a love story.

Boy meets girl and girl falls for boy - that much is true.

But when Sienna meets Nick it's not the way it happens in love stories. It's because of a squirrel on water skis...

She sees Nick's dangerous brown eyes and thinks,

Don't.

Fall.

Into.

Them.

Who will be there to catch Siena when she falls? She is so fragile. She has so many secrets, and he is not that serious.

Funny and sad, this is the story of two people destined never to come together in the great love affair they crave more than anything else

My Review:
I received this book at our Ottawa book blogger meet-up from Hatchette group for review. I like a good chick lit story and I was looking forward to reading this book. I have to admit that while I ended up liking this book as a whole, there were times when I wanted to throw the book across the room.
The main characters in the novel, Sienna and Nick, are clearly in love with each other. It is apparent from page 1 and they do not seem to be able to get their shit together. Both are stubborn and they are too afraid to admit how they feel. This makes for a very frustrating reading experience.
The book is told in both their perspectives and so the reader knows what is going on for each character at all times. It really makes you wish you could jump into the book smack both Sienna and Nick on the back of the head and say: "You love each other so what in the heck are you waiting for?!? Please, just kiss already!!" In fact, I may or may not have done this aloud while reading and my husband may or may not think that I am insane.
Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5. This is merely based on the frustration level because I do think that the writing was good and that it held my attention. If Nick and Sienna had gotten their act together sooner I may have given it a 4.

Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publishing Date: February 7th, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary, GLBT
Pages: 480 pgs
ISBN: 9780062020567

My Rating: 5 stars


Summary from Goodreads: 
When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief she’ll never have to tell them that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief soon turns to heartbreak, as Cam is forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and not making waves, and Cam becomes an expert at this—especially at avoiding any questions about her sexuality.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. To Cam’s surprise, she and Coley become best friends—while Cam secretly dreams of something more. Just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, her secret is exposed. Ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to “fix” her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self—even if she’s not quite sure who that is.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is a stunning and unforgettable literary debut about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life according to your own rules.

My Review:
Wow is all I really have to say about this book. Since I saw this book on The Story Siren's In My Mailbox vlog, I knew I had to have it. For some reason I am attracted to GLBT literature. I just can't imagine struggling to tell someone an integral part of yourself and worrying if that person will accept you or not. I have never had to go through that and I can only imagine the struggles that the GLBT community has to go through on a regular basis.
This book didn't let me down. It follows the life of Cameron Post, a young lesbian teen whose parents die when she is a girl. She struggles with hiding this part of herself and worrying what people will think of her. It turns out her worry was for good reason because when her aunt and grandmother find out that Cameron has been having relations with another girl, they send her to a school that specializes in "straightening out" teens.
I can not even fathom why there are even places like this that exist, but I know that they do. I say let people love who they want to love. I know that some religions frown upon this but honestly, there are worse things in life than two people loving each other who are of the same sex. Some of the world's worst attrocities have been committed by straight people so I do not understand the mentality that homosexuality is sinful. That is just my personal opinion and I hope I do not open a can of worms with this review.
The one thing that bothered me a bit about this novel is the way that it ended. It is a monster of a book, which I enjoy, but at the end I just wanted to know what happens after the book ends. I don't want to give anything away so I won't tell you how it ends but when you read it you will know exactly what I am talking about.
This book is not for people who are plot-driven when they read a book. The primary focus of this novel is character development and it works quite well for this book. Danforth is a great writer and I look forward to reading more from her. Overall I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.