Masquerade Read-Along Week 4!

Hey, everybody! :)

I couldn't participate the past few times in the Masquerade Read-Along because I was scheduled for blog tours, but I'm ecstatic to be back. I just finished Masquerade by Cambria Hebert and loved it, so I hope you don't mind me jumping back in the bandwagon for this final week!

This read-along is hosted by Heidi @ Rainy Day Ramblings, Steph @ Five Alarm Book Reviews, Candace @ Candace's Book Blog,  Veronica @ Mostly Reviews and Cambria Hebert.

This week is hosted by Veronica @ Mostly Reviews:

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Chapters 24 - 31

1. Heven develops a new "supernatural power". She remarks that it isn’t that exciting of a power. Is this a power you would like to have, if not what kind of supernatural power would you like to have? 

Asking me what kind of super power I'd want is like asking a little kid what kind of candy they want inside a candy store. As a girl who reads TONS of supernatural books, it makes it really hard to choose just one! 

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to spoil Heven's super power, so I'll just say that I think it's actually pretty cool as far as awesome goes! For my own power... I'm at a toss up between flying, teleportation, and being able to read really fast. The first two so I don't have to take the bus to school anymore; the last one so I could actually make a dent in my TBR pile instead of letting it expand every day. x)

2. Which character do you think makes the biggest internal change throughout the course of this book? Is there a situation in your life that you can reflect back on as an experience that changed your life for the better? 

I think that Heven went through the biggest internal change, and I loved that about her! (There's nothing worse that a static heroine.) She went from shy and embarrassed to being a better person, inside and out, and not just because she didn't have the scars anymore. She didn't duck her head and suppress herself but she wasn't overly confident either.

There are tons of moments that changed me for the better! Most of them have been mistakes that made me think, "Okay, I'm never doing that again!" or huge events that made me think, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe that happened! What can I do to prevent it next time?" or something like that. I can't remember many specifics right now, but I'm always changing, and I hope that it's for the better at least most of the time.

On a side note, always proceed with caution when going out into your backyard. You never know when you'll run into the screen door! (Not that this ever happened to me, of course...)

3. Who is your favorite character and why? 

Sam, hands down! Because he's awesome, and my favourite characters in books are almost always the love interest or the most swoon-worthy guy. ;)

4. When the book ends the reader has an idea of what the next book will involve. Do you think the book ended in the appropriate place? 

I'm just so happy that it didn't end on a cliffhanger! There have been so many of those in YA fiction lately that it's getting harder and harder to keep track of them (and not want to cry) as we wait for the next book. The ending of Masquerade isn't one of those, but it still leaves me wanting to know what's going to happen. And that's how they should be. :)

5. Do you have any predictions for the next book in the series, Charade? 

Besides things going horribly wrong, as stories in sequels usually do? Nope! I'm just going to go in hoping that Cambria will surprise me. :) I find that going in with expectations sometimes makes it easier for a book to disappoint me, so I'm keeping my mind open so I can love Charade hopefully as much as I loved Masquerade!

6. Did you enjoy participating in this read along? Will you join in future read-alongs? 

Yes, for sure! I LOVED participating in this read-along (even though I couldn't for a few weeks in between), and I'm definitely planning on participating more if I can. I had a blast finding out what other people thought of the same questions that I did, and there are some hilarious people out there!

It's sort of like a book club (which we don't have much of where I live) except online and with fellow awesome bloggers. How could I NOT want to participate in another? ;)

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And that's the end of the read-along! I'm kind of sad that it's over, but I'm glad that we still have the sequel to look forward to. (Maybe we'll have a read-along for that too?)

For everyone who has read this book before, I'd love to know what you thought of it! And for those of you who haven't yet, I'd still love to know what you thought of my answers. :)

Have a sparkly & fantastic day, everyone! ♥

-Mimi

Masquerade Read-Along Week 1!

Hiiii, everyone! :)

Even though I've been around the blogosphere for a little over a year now, this is my very first read-along so I'm really excited! Especially that it's for Masquerade by Cambria Hebert because she's such an awesome author, and I'm loving her book so far!

This read-along is hosted by Heidi @ Rainy Day Ramblings, Steph @ Five Alarm Book Reviews, Candace @ Candace's Book Blog,  Veronica @ Mostly Reviews and Cambria Hebert. I don't think it's too late to sign up, so go ahead and jump in for next week if you want! :)

This wee is hosted by Steph @ Five Alarm Book Reviews: 

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Chapters 1 - 8

1. If you were disfigured like Heven (by some sort of accident) do you think you would have reacted the same way as her? (loss of self confidence, hiding yourself, etc)

Oh! I don't think I can really say for sure because everything always feels different when you're actually in the situation rather than reading about it.

But I'd like to think... that I wouldn't have lost confidence in myself. Since I was a pretty clutzy kid (okay, so a really clutzy kid), I have tons of scars on my arms and legs. And even though they aren't nearly as bad as Heven's, they don't bother me as much as they'd bother my mom or sister. I like to think I'd remain the same person I am now even if they were as bad as hers — spunky and strange and smiley! :)

It was nothing to be embarrassed about; it wasn't Heven's fault that she had those scars. As long as I'd have awesome friends like Kimber sticking by me, I think I could get by okay!

2. Do you think that Kimber’s plan for revenge against Cole (for kissing another girl) is a good idea?

Definitely not! Revenge is fun to read about sometimes — and I have to admit to loving the TV show, Revenge LOL — but I'm not really a revenge person myself. (I can't hold a grudge long enough to get revenge for the life of me!) As soon as Kimber decided to get back at Cole by making him jealous, I wished I was in the book so I could tell her not to.

Making a boy who loves you jealous... usually doesn't end well. x)

3. In the beginning chapters, Heven is very drawn to Sam but won’t admit it due to her own insecurities. Kimber begins to “date” Sam… do you think that Heven should have spoken up? Do think Kimber should have seen Heven’s real feelings?

In Heven's position, I honestly don't know what I would've done because I'm really bad at sorting out that kind of stuff. It's hard for me to see the line between "I'm totally crushing on that guy!" and "Oh my gosh, he is SO hot!" LOL x)

I guess it might've been hard for Heven to say something since Kimber set her sights on Sam from the beginning and she didn't want to be a bad friend. But since they were friends, Heven should've mentioned something anyways because that's what friends do. And Kimber should've noticed how her friend was about the situation.

4. Masquerade is broken in four separate POV’s: Heven, Sam, The Hate and The Hope. Do you think having multiple POV’s adds depth to the story? Why or why not?

When they're done right, I love multiple POV's so of course my answer is going to be yes! ;) We haven't read much of Sam's POV up to chapter 8 yet, but I love reading Heven's because she's really sweet and realistic. And I love how The Hate and The Hope are like back to back opposites. One says, "I like pizza," and the other says, "I hate pizza." Those lines aren't in the book but it's a lot like that LOL, which is pretty cool to read. :)

5. A great source of strength for Heven is her grandmother. Who do you think yours is/would be?

If we were talking about people, a great source of strength for me would definitely be my older sister. I love her like crazy! She's always the first person I go to if I need help with something, just like I'm always the first person she goes to when she needs help too. We may not be all that similar (for example, she doesn't like to read), but she's kind of like the yin to my yang. I don't think I would've survived so many things without her!

If we were talking about things... I'd have to say books! In a way, books DO help make you stronger because you learn so much from them. And they're a nice escape from reality too when things aren't going as well as you'd hope. Reading a novel can be like therapy for a bookworm's heart, if that doesn't sound too cheesy LOL. ;)

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And that's it! :) If you've read this book before, I would LOVE to know what you thought. But if you haven't read it yet, I'd love to know what you thought of these questions & answers anyways!

Have an amazing day, you guys! ♥

-Mimi