STACKING THE SHELVES

So, I probably won't participate in this meme every week (there's a limit to my funds lol), but this time I got a pretty sweet haul of books and wanted to share.  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

List of Books: One Foot in the Grave by Jeanine Frost
                        The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
                        Social Suicide by Gemma Halliday
                        Forgiven by Jana Oliver
                        Immortal City by Scott Speer
                        Body & Soul by Stacey Kade

First up to read:

And there you have it!  The Girl in the Steel Corset is actually a gift I'm sending to one of my Ninja Aunts since I already own a copy and feel she's missing out on all that Steampunky goodness  :D  The rest I bought at BAM.  I'm giving the Night Huntress series another go b/c so many seem to LOVE Bones--and I would like to love him, too!!

Hope you all had a great week,

Ninja Girl

PURE by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure was my first book ordered from BAM (like the actual store), and it took around 3 weeks to get here!  But it was worth the wait--and I want more.  Now, please J

Alex, Aiden, and Seth are back in this second installment of the Covenant series and the story picks up pretty much where Half-Blood left off.

If being the Apollyon-in-training wasn't bad enough, Alex now has to contend with Aiden's crazy mood shifts, Seth's ever-present presence, and the very real threat of half-daimons.  What's worse: She still carries the scars of her last meeting with the daimons, tags on her neck and arms she'd rather keep hidden.  When a student at the Covenant is attacked, all half-bloods are put on watch.  Curfew, ground restrictions, and body searches are put in place.  You'd think the strong-willed Alex would be glad to get gone.  But when she's taken to The Council--where the old rules separating Pures and Halfs are strictly enforced--she finds even more trouble.  Some would rather see Alex dead than have two Apolloyons--and if Alex's love for a certain pureblood were to be discovered it would mean both their heads.

This book was full of action and romance.  The fight scenes were definitely on point, but my favorite thing about Pure was that Armentrout takes the story where you want it to go.  If that sounds vague, I'll try and explain.

At the Covenant, tensions are on the rise.  With all those restrictions and the threat now presented by Half-bloods to Pures, how could they not?  But Armentrout takes it a step farther.  Even though Seth and Alex start to bond (a feat made easier by tragedy and Aiden's constant flip-floppery (more on that later)), Armentrout shakes things up before things can get too comfy.

Instead of lingering at the now-familiar Covenant setting, she introduces a new playing field: The Council.  The belly of the beast.  Here is the real evil, not only b/c some of the members want Alex and Seth out of the picture permanently.  The Council holds all the power and can do whatever they want.  The scene where Armentrout shows this was tragic/powerful/exactly what needed to happen.

We needed to see an example of the Council's inflexibility and power, and she gave us that visual--in vivid, horrific detail.  Here's what would happen if Alex and Aiden actually did fess up to their love.  It was great to see that.  Also, after introducing an ominous harbinger of death (i.e. the statue of the three furies *shivers*), she makes good on it.  In the final battle, Armentrout takes that story element and gives readers what they want.  It was an all-out bloodfest and those furies were oh-so-nasty.  Very well done.  I'll be having nightmares for weeks J

And also, if you think you're done with love triangles, can I recommend this one?  I can now safely state that I am Team Seth.  As much as I dig Aiden and his brighter-than-bright grey eyes, I'm all about the Apollyon.  He stayed with Alex and drove the nightmares away.  He isn't afraid to argue with her--or call her his "cuddle bunny" just to piss her off.  He always has her back, and I know Alex is all I-heart-Aiden, but I, respectfully, disagree.

Girl's off her head if she doesn't go for the mostly-flirtatious, sometimes-trash-talking, always-there-for-her Apollyon.  Which she obviously won't, but I only hope Armentrout doesn't make Seth out to be a traitor/a-hole simply to make Aiden seem better.  It's alright.  We all know she's going to go for Aiden--which is why this ninja is pulling for Seth!!! J

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

TEASER TUESDAY: THE GIRL IN THE CLOCKWORK COLLAR by Kady Cross

Teaser Tuesday's is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading (click the image above to be directed to her page). Anyone can participate! Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open it to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO REVEAL SPOILERS! (Be sure not to spoil the book for others!
• Make sure your sentences don't reveal something important!)
• Include the title and author to, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

Got a galley of The Girl In The Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross. (Thanks again, NetGalley) LOVIN' it so far!!

Teaser:

"'I care about you, Fin.  More than I should probably admit, but I'm not going to share you or fight for your affection.'  Then--because he couldn't help himself--he kissed her fingers."

--page 32 of galley

I like Griffin--a LOT--especially when he says/does things like this.  But what can I say?  I'm a Jack Dandy girl at heart :D

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl

LOVER REBORN by J.R. Ward

Several things happen in the Ninja Girl household with the release of a new BDB book. 

First, there's the fangirl-ing that ensues: squees of joy, jumping up and down, taking out lamps with wildly flailing arms.  Second, there's a fast and furious re-cap of all the books between me and Ninja Aunt P--which inevitably leads to arguing over who's the best brother.  It's so obvious, but the woman insists on disagreeing w/me on V's behalf.  Whatever.  We all know the truth.

Zsadist, my perfectly imperfect scarred brother, you are what the Brotherhood's all about.  I mean, seriously.  Lover Unbound vs. Lover Awakened; goatee vs. face scarred to hell; techie w/handrolleds vs. tragedy and lethal intent personified?  Love you both, but there's no contest, true?

Anyway, after the arguing, me and Ninja Aunt P go and plunder our local bookstore, grabbing up three copies of the Warden's latest (which really is a MONSTER of a book; 527 pgs of BDB awesome).  Lover Reborn was a great installment in the series.  Ward gave me tragedy, violence, plot, romance, and did justice to the characters I love.  Ward's undeniable, unmatchable recipe of BDB goodness.

In case you haven't read BDB, Ward puts her characters through hell, takes them to the precipice of the worst scenario you could ever imagine and pushes them over the edge.  That is what makes her stories great: They're never easy.  And Tohr's story was no exception.

I'm not even going to try and summarize.  The BDB stories are too complex, and the Warden did it much better than I ever could (from Goodreads):

Ever since the death of his shellan, Tohrment is a heartbroken shadow of the vampire leader he once was. Brought back to the Brotherhood by a self-serving fallen angel, he fights again with ruthless vengeance- and is unprepared for a new tragedy. Seeing his beloved in dreams—trapped in a cold, desolate netherworld—he turns to the angel to save his former mate, only to despair at the path he himself must take to set her free. As war with the lessers rages, and a new clan of vampires vies for the Blind King’s throne, Tohr struggles between an unforgettable past, and a future that he doesn’t know he can live with… but can’t seem to turn away from.

Great things about this book: The relationship between Tohr and No'One.  I was so with them the entire time.  Ward gave me such insight into their feelings and both were equally vulnerable and tragically likable characters.  The emotional content in the book ran high.  The scene with Tohr and the dress had me choked up.  John and Xhex's struggles socked me in the gut.  Xcor (who's now one of my Favorite Characters to Watch) also had my eyes welling.  But I didn't cry; nope, ninjas don't do that.  They suck it up, pull on their big-girl pants, grit their teeth and turn the page.

And I did.  I drank up the pages of Lover Reborn like water.  They were absolutely awesome--the characters leading the book with plot woven in seamlessly.  J.R. Ward has some kind of book magic the likes of which are rarely seen.  If you're an adult, I cannot recommend this series enough.  It is the sh*t.  Period.

Ninja Girl

P.S. Blay and Qhuinn's book is next, thank the Warden :D  I. Cannot. Wait.

TUNE IN TUESDAY: My Book Soundtrack

Hi everyone!  For today's Tune in Tuesday I decided to post a few songs from Novel 3's book soundtrack.  (Yes, I'm one of those writers J) Novel 3--which actually does have a title lol--is the novel that got me an agent, and it's also the one Awesome Agent T and I are currently working on/getting ready for submission.  In the spirit of these final revisions, I thought I'd post three songs that (I feel) really represent my book.

Hope you enjoy!

Ninja Girl

1)  Powerful Stuff by Sean Hayes--which is the song I pictured playing in my favorite kissing scene!

2)  Call It Off  by Tegan and Sara--awesome song; totally reps the break-up

3)  Hysteric by Yeah Yeah Yeahs--annnnnnd the Happily Ever After *sigh* J

Let me know what you think!

ARTICLE 5 by Kristen Simmons

Article 5 of The Moral Statutes clearly states: Children are considered valid citizens only when conceived by a married man and wife…

And just like that, Ember Miller is no longer a U.S. citizen.  The concept for this book was great (if well-worn).  A much more realistic dystopian setting, it's the here and now, the U.S. as we know it turned on its ear.  I know this type of book has been done before, but what really got me interested wasn't the premise.

It was this last sentence from the jacket flap summary (after Ember's mother has just been taken away for noncompliance with Article 5): And what's worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

The romantic slant weaved in at the end hooked me.  Who can say no to dreadful situations suddenly made dire by true love and a betrayal that huge?  Not me.  I decided right then I had to read it, and Kristen Simmons's Article 5 was a surprisingly fast read.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The high stakes, Embers unflinching belief that this was not the way life should be.  Sometimes in books, the MC is so tied up in the world they've been brought up in they can't see the injustice/the problems.  That always makes me dislike them a little/wanna knock them upside the head.  But Ember knew the entire time that her government was off its rocker, which was a big plus.

After having her citizenship revoked (simply b/c she was born out of wedlock), Ember is sent on a wild--and brutal--ride.  First, to the girls rehab center--which reminded me of Lowood (b/c apparently every story about injustice has a bit of Jane Eyre thrown in there J)--where the Sisters and soldiers dole out harsh punishments to those who refuse to fall in line.  Next, on the run with Chase, who yes, stood by as her mother was taken away, but who also redeemed himself by coming back for Ember (more on that later).  He and Ember encounter several obstacles on their way to find a safe house--thieves who want to rob them and worse, a crazy woman who thinks Ember is her daughter (and who btw killed a dog!  Evil, evil woman), and soldiers hunting them at every turn, especially one sadistic soldier who has it out for Chase.

The tension was pulled tight the entire time; there was never a moment I thought Ember and Chase were safe.  I have to say, though, my favorite parts were Ember's memories of before Chase became a soldier.  Every time one of them popped up, I was like, "I could read just this and be happy."  Ember and Chase's past was just as entertaining, maybe even more intriguing, as their present. 

Favorite part, page 156: "Ask me not to go." Then farther down, "One word, Em.  That's all.  Tell me you want me to stay."

*Sigh*  Chase Jennings was absolutely swoon-worthy, loved his commitment to Ember--even if her refusal to see his true intentions got on my nerves at times.  Also, there were times when Ember did stupid things (i.e. run off by herself, inevitably ending up in danger), but overall I still liked her.  She pulled out the big guns in the end, a lot of courage and ingenuity, which I love to see.

Enjoyed this one a lot, hope you will, too!

Ninja Girl