Follow Friday #3

Hi again, everyone! :)

For those who don't know, Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by the super-duper awesome Parajunkee! It's a great neat way to meet new people and expand your list of friends over Blogger, and it's really easy to join too! :)



All you have to do is:

1. (Required) Follow Parajunkee at her awesome blog. 
2. (Required) Follow the featured blogger of the week. (Rhiannon Paille)
3. Put your blog name and URL in the Linky thing. 
4. Grab the the button from Parajunkee's blog and place it in a post (so people can say hi in the comments!).
5. Follow, follow, follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just only a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs! Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI!"
6. If someone comments and follows you, share the love! Follow them back ;)
7. If you're new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let Parajunkee know, so she can stop by and check out your blog! 

Q: Genre Wars! What's your favourite genre and which book in that genre made it your favourite? 

A: Oh, geez, this one's hard! I'm in love with so many different genres as long as they fall into the Young Adult category. But I have to say that the final showdown is between YA urban fantasy and YA dystopian. 

For urban fantasy books, The Mortal Instruments series by Cassie Clare has to be one of my favourites of all time but I have to admit that it was The Twilight saga that got me hooked. Actually, Stephenie Meyer's well known books were the ones that made me fall in love with reading in the first place.

And for dystopian, The Hunger Games is the first of the genre that I've read! It literally blew me away, and so many new dystopian novels (like Divergent by Veronica Roth) just keep me wanting more! My shelf is packed with this genre.

I guess I'm pretty mainstream considering that these two are very popular genres as of now, but these books are just so good!

What's your favourite genre? :)

HAPPY FOLLOW FRIDAY!

-Mimi

Review: Divergent

Book: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Pages: 487
Source: bought from Chapters
Stars: 5/5

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:

Oh. My. GOSH!

I can't tell you how much I loved Divergent! It's no secret that dystopian fiction is one of my favourite genres of the moment, but this book literally sets the standard over the top! People have been comparing this to The Hunger Games (one of my favourite series of all time) which I found ridiculous at first, but Divergent truly and honestly deserves every praise it gets.

It's a fast-paced novel that sucks me in from page one with a heroine that I can't help but fear and adore. And I absolutely adored Four! His chemistry with Tris is breathtaking. Everything about him makes me want to swoon because he's such a strong character. Four is no weaker than Tris is.

I don't want to spoil this book for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but let me just say this: Divergent is an amazing book filled with thrilling challenges, lovable characters, unexpected turns and just enough romance to satisfy the cravings of a reader.

This is a novel that I definitely recommend!  

BUY or BORROW?: Buy it!!! Divergent is a must have for your literary shelf!

-Mimi

Review: Paranormalcy

Book: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 335
Source: KPL
Stars: 4/5

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours. 

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:

Oh, bleep, I loved this book!

Evie was an awesome character to read about! She was smart and snarky, kick-ass and hilariously funny. Not once did I think that she was a weakling who couldn't take care of herself. Sure, she may have had her moments of immaturity but all those little things were easy to understand, considering she'd been living in a containment facility practically all her life.

Paranormalcy, despite the dominant paranormal aspect, was realistic. Kiersten White managed to write this novel in a way that was extremely easy to believe (especially since there was no love-at-first sight drama)... except maybe the fact that the vampires could be taken down with a pink taser.

(Maybe I'm just too used to reading about the glamorized and perfect vamps who can run back and forth across a field before you even blink an eye.)

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Paranormalcy! It was a nice and flirty read with a very modern voice and characters you couldn't help but adore (like Lish! And Lend! ♥). I can't wait until the sequel, Supernaturally, is released!

BUY or BORROW?: If I wasn't as broke as I am (which sucks), this book would definitely be part of my large collection of books!

-Mimi

Follow Friday #2

Hi again, everyone! :)

For those who don't know, Follow Friday is a blog hop hosted by the super-duper awesome Parajunkee! It's a great neat way to meet new people and expand your list of friends over Blogger, and it's really easy to join too! :)



All you have to do is:

1. (Required) Follow Parajunkee at her awesome blog. 
2. (Required) Follow the featured blogger of the week. (Backseat Reader)
3. Put your blog name and URL in the Linky thing. 
4. Grab the the button from Parajunkee's blog and place it in a post (so people can say hi in the comments!).
5. Follow, follow, follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just only a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs! Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI!"
6. If someone comments and follows you, share the love! Follow them back ;)
7. If you're new to the Follow Friday hop, comment and let Parajunkee know, so she can stop by and check out your blog! 

Q: What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen? (Both of which could be terrifying.) 

A: I love zombies! I mean, who doesn't? According to many stories, once you get past the undead part and the kind-of-disgusting smell, they aren't half bad. But I guess that turning into a zombie myself after an apocalypse isn't exactly something I'd want to do... so maybe I'll carry a can of Zombie-Off. My friend bought one before from a gag store. x)

As for Mel Gibson, I honestly don't know much about him so I can't judge. But he can't be as scary as rotting zombies, right?

This is now my second time joining this awesome blog hop! I'm still quite new to the blogosphere though, so I'd be ecstatic if you stopped by to say hi! :)

HAPPY FOLLOW FRIDAY!

-Mimi

Review: The Iron Queen

Book: The Iron Queen
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 358
Source: gift from KM
Stars: 5/5

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:

How can I express my feelings for this book without seeming like a gushing moron? Because I honestly don't think there's away. The Iron Queen was just that amazing!

The first two books blew me away with the amount of character growth that Meghan went through, so that she still continued to mature made me so happy! She was strong. She was selfless. She learned to fight. But she was still Meghan, and I loved that too.

Everything that happened in this book just blew me away. From the carefully constructed faery world to the amazing cast of characters, The Iron Queen was breathtaking from page one — although I've come to expect nothing less from Julie Kagawa!

Beautifully and magically inducing, The Iron Queen is a perfect third installment to the Iron Fey series! I can't wait until The Iron Knight, which is Ash's Story (!!), is released in October. 

BUY or BORROW?: For Julie Kagawa's books, this question is becoming kind of pointless. You definitely need her books on your bookshelf! :)

-Mimi

Review: The Iron Daughter

Book: The Iron Daughter
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: August 1, 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 359
Source: borrowed from Lexie
Stars: 5/5

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. 

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:

As much as I loved the first book in this series, The Iron King (read my review here), I loved this one even more!

Julie Kagawa has such a beautiful way of making me fall for her characters, even after I loved them so much already. How much Meghan continues to grow amazes me and Ash is just so swoon-worthy on his own. Their love is pure and strong and heartbreaking, but not one bit cheesy.

But where the first book was slightly repetitive with the amount of times Meghan was captured by gremlins, The Iron Daughter continues its destructive path the entire way through! Everything was original, nothing repeated. The story captures you from the very first line and my eyes were practically glued to the pages until the last one was turned.

All in all, The Iron Daughter was amazing! I don't think that there are very many sequels that I liked better than the first novel, but this was one of them. 

BUY or BORROW?: Buy it! Go to the bookstore right now and flash your wallet because this book is one you don't want to miss ;)

-Mimi

Review: The Iron King

Book: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: February 1, 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 363
Source: borrowed from Lexie
Stars: 5/5

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.
(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:

Oh my gosh, this is definitely my newest favourite faery book!

I can't even tell you how much I adore Meghan! She's strong, hilarious, sweet, and so easy to relate to. Even in Julie Kagawa's mystical and beautiful faery world, the characters are so realistic and well-written that every scene paints a picture in my mind.

But one of the most interesting aspects of this story is the iron fey. Not only does it fit in perfectly with how the old blood faeries are weakened by iron, but it also parallels the real world and how people are obsessed with the progressing technology. Amazing isn't a strong enough word to describe it!

And let me say this without being maimed by Puck fans: I'm definitely Team Ash!

With excellent writing and a lovable cast, The Iron King definitely takes a spot on my list of recommended reading! Add this to your "To Be Read" pile if you haven't already! 

BUY or BORROW?: Buy it! For sure, without a doubt, buy it :)

-Mimi