Review - The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey… and is certain she is destined to kill him.

Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

So, I was stuck flying during the whole Delta debacle when the computers went down and flights were delayed and cancelled and everything was just ridiculous. Luckily, I'd brought some books. And luckily, one of those books happened to be The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. The Raven King, book 4 in The Raven Cycle, is one of the most beautifully written stories that I think I've ever read. While I have come to expect nothing less from Maggie Stiefvater, this one went above and beyond anything else I've picked up by her.

Everything was just so magically descriptive and fantastical that I couldn't manage to put it down. It really did save my trip up to Maine to pick up my daughter. Flights and accommodations were significantly less than stellar so it helped to have something that could completely remove me from the situation I was in and transport me somewhere else completely. The book was terrifying and haunting and heartbreakingly sad and beautiful all at the same time.

It was nice to be able to come back to Fox Way and see Maura and The Grey Man again. To be able to follow Ronan and Adam and Gansey and Blue around one more time. Learning more about Blue's father was a bit shocking, but seemed absolutely fitting considering Blue. There were also some other great plot twists that perhaps I should have seen coming but didn't, i.e. Cabeswater.

I loved the inclusion of Henry and his bee. Henry, someone who had been on the outside and absent for 90% of the story telling played such a wonderful part in this last story. I loved that I got to see Ronan for who he really was. Not just some jerk who liked to fight and piss people off. But someone who loved, and who wanted to BE loved. Who wanted to protect and to fight FOR people... not just fight people. Maybe he was that way the whole time, but the development of a certain relationship in this final installment of the story just made him so much more... Ronan... to me.

Fantastic.

That's really all I can say to sum up how good this book was. Well, fantastic and wonderful and beautiful and all of the other synonyms of all the words. If you've read the rest of the series, please finish it out and pick this one up. If you haven't, then start. The story and the journey they go on will amaze you.

Review - Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

found.
Cole St. Clair has come to California for one reason: to get Isabel Culpeper back. She fled from his damaged, drained life, and damaged and drained it even more. He doesn't just want her. He needs her.

lost.
Isabel is trying to build herself a life in Los Angeles. It's not really working. She can play the game as well as all the other fakes...but what's the point? What is there to win?

sinner.
Cole and Isabel share a past that never seemed to have a future. They have the power to save each other and the power to tear each other apart. The only thing for certain is that they cannot let go.

Ok, so I finished Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater almost 3 weeks ago but I was putting off actually getting online and typing up a review because I am exhausted. Well, I'm less exhausted now than I was before... but still. So, sorry there hasn't been much activity on the blog as of late.

I was super stoked when I heard Sinner was coming out. I loved the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and I was so sad when it was all over. I was even more stoked when I learned that this one would be following Cole and Isabel. I love the Grace/Sam story with all my heart, but I wanted to know where Cole's story went.

Cole has gone to Los Angeles to find Isabel. In the process he's also supposed to be filming some kind of reality show and making a new record with a new band. Or at least, mostly new. Isabel is happy to see him, and she isn't happy to see him at the same time. She doesn't want to fall in love with him because she doesn't want to be hurt and she thinks that Cole is definitely the kind of person who is going to hurt her.

I have to admire Cole and his persistence. And the fact that even in the face of blatant temptation he didn't let his former addiction overcome him and cause him to undo all of the things that he's accomplished since becoming a wolf. I loved his carefree attitude and I loved being able to just be inside his head. He was trying so incredibly hard with Isabel.

Isabel kind of ticked me off a bit, but then I had to remember that she was putting up with a lot when it came to Cole's reality show. A lot that she didn't really have to put up with at all. And she was doing so quite well for the most part. I cut her some slack even though a few things she did still irritated me. Like insisting that Cole was doing things he shouldn't without really giving him a chance to plead his case.

She'd put up a wall though. One that she wasn't sure she wanted to put down for Cole. Well, in a way, she desperately wanted him to bust right through it and sweep her off her feet and carry her off in to the sunset with his mustang... but the rational part of her wanted to keep the wall in place because the lifestyle he was accustomed to (and she wasn't) was one that normally would have lead him to tear her heart to pieces and leave her broken on the ground. He had to prove himself. Over and over again. And I think he did that with flying colors. I love Cole. I really do.

And it doesn't hurt that when I read his chapters I hear Dan Bittner's voice in my head.

This was a great installment in the series. A definite deviation from the normal back and forth between Sam and Grace and their sort of ... innocence. Both Cole and Isabel are world weary and tired of the phoniness of people and the hurt they've gone through where as Sam and Grace were full of hope. Cole and Isabel hold each other up, though. They kind of find a new strength in each other and it makes the world not seem as bad.

If you've read the rest of the series, you should absolutely pick this one up. It's a fantastic read.

Review - Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue is book 3 in the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. And, as I love all things Maggie Stiefvater, I had to read this. Although, I have put it off because book 4 is not scheduled to come out until February of 2016 so I didn't want there to be a million days in between reading this and reading that but... as with all things... I am impatient. And I had to stop procrastinating and get to reading.

Blue and Co. (Or Gansey and Co. however you want to look at it) are so close to finding Glendower's tomb that they can taste it. Sort of. But Maura is gone and there are curses on caves and Greenmantle is now teaching at Aglionby and Adam has to go to court to testify against his father and things just aren't working out the way they're supposed to be.

Some finagling has to be done to gain access to certain places and to make other things go away... it's getting scary. They're getting so close but everything is upending and they're not quite sure what to do next.

*

That was the best summary I could give without giving much away. As this is still a relatively new book.

First of all, I would like to say that I would love Blue's sense of style. I really would. But unfortunately I am the type of person that can really only rock jeans and t-shirts and still look like some semblance of a human being.

Moving along. This book has a lot of surprises in it. Some interesting. Some incredibly sad. One in particular I didn't see coming at ALL. Not at all. I guess that's kind of how surprises work though. You don't see them coming.

I didn't want to put this one down. I brought it with me to babysit, to dog sit... I brought it to read while I was waiting for my daughter's band concert to start... I read it outside, inside... everywhere and anywhere and all the time. That is how magnificent this installment is. It's also frustrating in a way. Everyone seems so stubborn and no one seems to give anyone the credit that they deserve.

The crew makes some new friends in this story. One I enjoyed immensely and I thought was just absolutely fantastic. Another was... different. Although I'm not sure yet whether or not that's a bad thing. I guess we will have to wait for the 4th book to find out for sure.

I loved Blue Lily, Lily Blue. But then, I love all of Maggie's books. It's fun to read about stories that are set close to home with names of places that I've been to. It had enough suspense without making the entire thing one big ball of "Oh my gosh what's going to happen!?" and the characters (Blue especially) had enough sass to keep things funny. We get a look at how strong they can truly be when bad things happen, and boy do they happen in this one. We also get to see just how magical things are the closer they get to their goal. It's pretty incredible. And I'll just warn you now, you'll get a punch to the gut in the end. Just saying.

If you've read the other 2 in this series, you HAVE to give this one a go. If you haven't, I suggest reading books 1 & 2 first before even attempting this one. You'll be completely lost if you're not all caught up on things. I can't wait for The Raven King to be released!

Review - Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

I read Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater a while ago, but after much procrastinating, am finally putting up my review. My procrastination had nothing to do with the book. The book was phenomenal. I just haven't been really in the mood to write reviews. I've been reading... just... not reviewing.

But I digress.

So I loved book one in the Raven Cycle, The Raven Boys. I was very excited to start reading this one. I was definitely not let down.

Of course, it continues Gansey's quest to find the fabled "sleeping" King and Ronan's brooding and being angry-but-sometimes-a-nice-guy, Adam's insistence that he do everything for himself, and Noah being... well, dead. Blue finds herself trying to figure out a way to tell Adam she doesn't love him while trying to decide whether or not what she's feeling for Gansey IS love. She's not sure.

Then, there is the addition of The Gray Man. A man that I wanted to hate, and for good reason. At first. But the more I read from him and the more he interacted with Blue and her mother and just everyone in her circle in general, the less I disliked him. I found myself enjoying his part in the story, even if it wasn't a happy one.

 This installment creeped me out. Severely. I mean, who wouldn't be terrified if they woke up from a nightmare having accidentally pulled their nightmare out of their sleep with them? Kind of like Nightmare on Elm Street, but way more disturbing. The pictures that the descriptions of Ronan's nightmares brought to mind was horrifying in a way that made me not want to read the book at night. But I was also fascinated at the thought that, if he tried hard enough, he could literally bring to life anything he wanted right out of his own mind.

The relationship between Noah and Blue I thought was sweet. They're like, childhood best friends. Which I think was good for Blue with the changes going on in Adam. She needed someone that didn't expect anything from her and wouldn't be able to hurt her in any way.

I liked this book because it kind of makes me wonder if there isn't some truth behind it, ya know? Don't they say that all fiction is based in reality? How awesome would it be if there really was some ancient king hidden somewhere in Virginia. Or if there really was a place like Cabeswater where you could wander through for hours and come out having only been gone for a few minutes.

However, I would STILL love to know what a Henrietta accent sounds like. I've lived in VA 99% of my life and I know what an Appalachian accent sounds like, a southern accent, no accent at all (even though people still insist that I have one), and God knows how many other accents. The Henrietta accent is mentioned so much that I would love to know what it's supposed to sound like.

Does that make me weird?

Anyways, great book. Super dark and ominous (and creepy!) but great. If you read the first installment, I suggest you give this one a go! I can't wait to read book three!

Review - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

It's taken me a while to finish The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I started it a few times, but I'm on my 3rd copy since I first attempted to read it. It's gotten lost twice since I've moved so it kind of puts a damper on enjoyment. This says nothing about the book itself. It was fantastic. Once I was finally able to get in to it.

Blue is what I wish I could have been at 16. Heck, she's what I wish I could have been now. Personality-wise at least. She seems responsible, mature, and she doesn't really care what other people think about her. I don't think she gave Gansey an entirely fair shot when they first met, but in her defense he was kind of puffed up and egotistical. Like a guy who is rich and powerful and wants everyone to know it.

Gansey is the kind of person you have to really get to know to appreciate. Once you get past his name and his money, he's a pretty interesting person. Searching for mythological and magical ley lines and not-dead kings. He's the kind of guy you go on adventures with. But he's also the kind of guy who can buy his way out of trouble.

Adam and Ronan were probably my favorite characters out of the 4 boys. Adam is just a small town boy (go ahead and sing that part) trying to make something of himself so that he can get out of where he is. Ronan is an angry, but super loyal, hothead who you definitely don't want to cross. If you'd put the two of them together they'd be like the perfect person. Compassionate but fierce. Loyal and looking to make his own way in life.

The story itself is absolutely magical (although, I am trying to figure out what a Virginian accent sounds like... apparently the boys all have a certain accent and being from Virginia, I'd like to know what it is... I'd always operated under the impression that Virginians don't really have accents unless you're from super south VA or you're Appalaichan, if its a cool accent then I feel left out... I want one). Hidden kings and corpse roads and clairvoyant families are just a little bit of what makes up The Raven Boys. And most of the good stuff happens after the first half of the book.

That's when we find out about Noah and his... "disability". That's when we meet the trees that can speak Latin and the teacher from Aglionby who will stop at nothing to find out everything Gansey knows and then use it to his advantage. Ok, so we met the teacher earlier, but didn't REALLY see his true colors until later on. Halfway through the book is when they travel in to the forest and through seasons and turn night in to day and time stops. It's just fantastical and it makes me wish that there truly were places like that here.

If you're a fan of Maggie Stiefvater then you need to read this book. If you like mythology and magical legends then you need to read this book. If you live in Virginia like I do, you should read this book. It's fine for all ages, although it may take an older reader to truly understand what's going on. Hopefully if you do buy the book you don't lose it as many times as I did!

Sinner Giveaway!

So, I happened to buy two copies of Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater and I have one WITH a signed book wrap up for grabs over on my FACEBOOK page! Go check it out!

Adventures in Baking - November Cakes from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I love to bake. And cook. And just make yummy things in general. So I was totally stoked to see that Maggie had created a recipe for November cakes. They just sounded too good to pass up and I know if I saw them in a bakery around the 'burg, I'd have to buy one.

Oh my gosh these are so delicious. You can find the recipe for November Cakes (from The Scorpio Races) on Maggie's website HERE. It took a long time to make, but they are absolutely fantastic. And because of my propensity to buy things that the grocery store that I may need at some point, just not now... I had everything I needed except for the heavy whipping cream. Which I almost forgot to use.

These were so scrumptious I convinced my sister to come over with her girls just to have some with us.

It was organized chaos.

I don't own a rolling pin, so a drinking glass it was. Thumbs up from my helper.

In the oven to rise again they go.

Not sure why I took two pictures, but here ya go.

Heck, they looked great even before they baked!

I was totally getting excited at this point.

Because I mean seriously... look how they're turning out.

Finished product... b-e-a-utiful.

They got the thumbs up from my 5 year old helper.

These 5 are all that's left. So yummy!

 

Review - The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

I don't know why The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater sat on my bookshelf so long before I picked it up to read it. Maybe it was the suspense of what was hiding between the covers that kept me away from it so long. It could also quite possibly be the fact that when it comes to choosing what to read I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

That being said... I loved it. Love love loved it. It was a simple story line with lots of interesting story threads hanging off of it. The story starts out with Sean Kendrick's point of view but reading more it seems that Puck may be the MAIN main character, even though the VPs alternate between the two. And it was funny... reading her, I always pictured her younger than she was. And reading Sean I pictured him so much older.

Puck and her brothers are orphaned when their parents are killed by the water horses and are struggling to hold their heads above water on their own. Sean Kendrick, also orphaned when his father is taken down by a water horse, works for the biggest horse people in Thisby. He is the go to guy when it comes to water horses, or just horses in general. He has a way with them... a magical way that draws Puck to him. But she's wild, and soon he's drawn to her as well.

I love the relationship between Puck and her horse, Dove. She knows her inside and out and Dove knows Puck just the same. Sean and Corr are much the same, but on a completely different level. And I love the fact that Puck, being the first female ever to ride in the races, doesn't try to make it an issue of gender. She just wants to be left alone to do the only thing she can think of to save her house.

Honestly, I really don't know what to say about this book. Other than I loved it. And I think I've said that enough. It was kind of a leisurely read. I didn't speed through it, although I probably could have. But it definitely held my attention every time I opened it up. The ending was amazing and heartbreaking all at the same time and I wasn't sure which to feel. I'm kind of sad that it was a stand alone novel. I'd love to find out what happens to Puck's brother, Gabe. And what happens between Puck and Sean.

There was no clear "relationship" defined between Puck and Sean. I liked that. There was no "Oh my gosh I love him even though I just met him!" that happens in so many other stories (not that that's always a bad thing... sometimes it's done really well). They both had so many other things on their mind that their feelings completely snuck up on them before they knew what was happening. And I thought that was absolutely perfect.

I absolutely recommend this book to everyone. The legend and lore behind the water horses is so interesting to learn about and the story was heartwarming and just wonderful to read. Loved it. Seriously. Why haven't you read it yet?

End of 2012 Book Survey

This survey was created by The Perpetual Page - Turner, and I know that I'm more than a week late, but hey... I get credit for doing it. Right?

I may skip a few questions here and there because unfortunately, I didn't read as much as I wish I had this year and I can't just name every book I've read for every question. :-P

Anyways, here we go.

1. Best book you read in 2012?
   Wow. It's hard to pick just one. And even with the 4 that I think are tied for first, there are a bunch more that could be right up there with them. But right now I'm going to have to go with Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore, Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev, and Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry.

2. Best series you discovered in 2012?
   Well, not necessarily that I discovered it, but I didn't start reading it until this year. But I read book one in The Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck and even though the main character is irritatingly ridiculous at times, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series. Although I can tell by reviews written by other people that it's going to infuriate me almost as much as book one did.

3. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?
   Hmmm... this one is probably an easy one. There are LOTS of gorgeous (and some not so gorgeous but equally as awesome) covers... but I'd have to say that it's a tie between Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore and Mark of Betrayal by A.M. Hudson.

4. Most memorable character in 2012?
   Hands down, Cole St. Clair from the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater.  He was my hero from the moment I finished Linger and I loved him even more in Forever. It also helps that I adore listening to this man narrate his part. ::cough:: Wow. Dan Bittner is just.... ::sigh:: I may also have to go with Jason Knight from The Dark Secret Series. He had a rough start in the series but he completely redeemed himself and he's just wonderful.

Moving on...

5. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
   Oh geez. This one isn't steamy or anything like that. But War Horse by Michael Morpurgo literally had me so frustrated I threw my book across the room. It was basically one of those "anything that can go wrong will go wrong" type of books and I just felt SO bad for that poor horse and the good people involved with him (just the good people... the bad ones can go and.... ::ahem:: nevermind). I'm the type of person where if I watch a movie and a person dies, it's sad. But if I'm watching a movie and an animal gets hurt or dies.... it ruins my WHOLE week. And I'm sobbing like an idiot.

6. Favorite relationship from a book in 2012?
   Ooh ooh. Nate and Bertie from the Theatre Illuminata trilogy by Lisa Mantchev. I love Nate. He's a strong and handsome pirate who's completely smitten with Bertie. And Bertie is a strong and independent woman who has a heart the size of the world. They balance each other out nicely and he gets her. And he's a pirate. Did I mention that?

That's about all I think I'm gonna answer for now. I know it's only 6 questions, but I figure that's enough. And again, sorry I'm late. But better late than never! Word. Now get to reading!

Stacking the Shelves #5

Thanks to Tynga at Tynga's Reviews for hosting Stacking the Shelves every week!

No books this week, but I did get a couple of things that were book related. Which is just as good.

First, I got a signed Raven Boys bookplate from Maggie Stiefvater (if you haven't gotten one yet, check out THIS VIDEO for how to score one!).

Second, I brought home Beastly on DVD from Walmart (book is by Alex Flinn). 

I will admit, I've never read the book. But watching the movie makes me want to. It's been one of those books that I keep picking up off the shelf at the book store and then putting it back. I really loved the movie though. It was short enough so that I didn't lose interest in it and I think Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer were perfect in the roles that they played.

Raven Boys Bookplates from Maggie Stiefvater

So Maggie Stiefvater has extra,limited edition bookplates for her newest novel, The Raven Boys.

She's decided to give them away.

For info on how to win one for yourself, click HERE.

Cheers!

Stacking the Shelves #3

Thanks to Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews for hosting Stacking the Shelves every week.

Now, last week I said that I hadn't gotten any books recently. Well... I needed some "retail therapy" in the form of bookstore purchasing (I'm not a clothes buyer). So I went to Books - a - Million and got some new reads.

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant -- until Celia meets Lo.

Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea -- a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid -- all terms too pretty for the soulless monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her . . . and steal his soul. 

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

The forest invites you in . . . but will never let you go.
As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear too.
Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.
Life seems idyllic, and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past -- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone -- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival each year, and looking to make Gretchen its next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet, the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.
Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end...

How was your book haul this week?

Book Trailer - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Really excited about this one! How about you guys?

Follow Friday #41

Thanks to Parajunkee and Alison Can Read for hosting FF every week!

This week's question:

Q: Fight! Fight! If you could have two fictional characters battle it out (preferably from books), who would they be and who do you think would win?

A: Hmmm... that's a hard one. I don't know. First thing that popped into my head was Tucker from Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand... but I don't know who I'd put him against. Then Cole from Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series pushed Tucker out of the way. But again, don't know who I'd have him battle it out with. I think they are both phenomenal characters (I totally love them) but I don't know if I'd want them to battle anyone really. Ugh. Always with the hard questions. Maybe Eragon from the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini vs. Harry Potter. :-P What do you think? Both able to use magic, but two totally different types of magic. Would be interesting.

Who would you pick?

Review - Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

This one is also very late in coming.

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces -- wolf and human -- with love bearing its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

In Shiver, Sam struggles to stay Sam. Grace fights to keep him human and with her.

Maggie Stiefvater's Linger introduces us to Cole St. Clair, a new (and wild) addition to the pack, chosen specifically by Beck to lead and take care of the wolves when he couldn't anymore. Because Beck hadn't know Sam would find a way to keep his humanity.

Cole ruffles some some feathers when he bulldozes his way in to Isabel's life... completely naked. As days go by, Isabel can't help but feel drawn to him. A feeling that she tries to squash pretty unsuccessfully.

Grace, who'd been bitten many years before feels something sitrring inside of her that hadn't been there until recently. Something she never thought would show itself. Something that terrifies her.

This time, Sam fights to hold on to Grace. But can he do it?

*

I think Cole was a wonderful addition to the story of the wolves. I loved him, even in all of his arrogance. Isabel is more likeable now than before despite the hard outer shell she wants to keep up. Sam is kind of lost with everything that's going on with Grace, so some of the romance from the first book is lost. But the ending more than makes up for it.

I love the twists and turns in Linger. The new characters are a great. And some of the old ones not mentioned much before make a re-appearance. Not a happy one. In fact, Tom Culpeper gets downright mean and dirty when he makes a surprise visit to Sam over at Beck's house.

The writing is amazing. It made me love the characters I was supposed to love and it made me hate the characters I was supposed to want to slap in the face.

I will honestly read anything and everything Maggie ever publishes. She's such a great author and I love her books!

Review - Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Better late than never I suppose. Seeing as how I never put a review up for the book.

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

When she was a little girl, Grace was bitten by wolves. A fact that slams to the forefront of everyone's mind when popular jock, Jack Culpeper, is "killed" in the woods.

Sam works in a bookstore, The Crooked Shelf, during the summer. When the temperature drops for the year though, his time as a human is all but forgotten. For months, he watches Grace from the woods... as a wolf.

Her wolf.

Fate in the form of a gunshot wound brings Sam and Grace together at last. But can they stay that way?

Grace loses a friend to the winter and finds an ally in an unexpected place when Jack's sister, Isabel, figures out what's going on.

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, was a whole new ball of wax for me. A unique and interesting take on the werewolf story. I love how independent Grace was and how completely awful Isabel could be. But, like every onion, Isabel had layers. Layers that get peeled away as the story goes on.

Sam. Sam the tragic and hopeless romantic who only has eyes for Grace. The one thing he manages to hold on to. Even in the winter.

It's a beautiful and suspenseful romance. Absolutely heartbreaking at times. In the end, it had me crying. And books don't usually have that effect on me. I loved the story. All the passion and devotion, the nailbiting and worrying. It's a story I will keep with me forever.

I highly recommend this book, and the rest in the series, to everyone.

In My Mailbox #28

Thanks to Kristi, The Story Siren for hosting In My Mailbox every week!

I didn't get anything last week but I DID get a few great books THIS week. One, I finished and put my review up for yesterday. Hehe. I couldn't put it down.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Blue by Lou Aronica (for review)

Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris's fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman - and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them. Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed.

The Visitor by Karen McDermott (for review)

Sometimes things happen to test us, it's only if we pass the test do we receive the true gift. The time has come for the visitor to arrive. When this happens it is a life changing event for those he encounters. Their lives have reached a turning point and with the watchful eye of the Visitor they will each recieve a gem. By passing the test comes the opportunity to recieve the true gift if they are fortunate enough. His journey with each of these five women leads him to not only change their lives but also his own.

Review - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

There are two books that have ever made me cry. Maggie Stiefvater has written both of them. Shiver being the first one. Forever being number two.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

I've waited so long to be able to read this book. It was totally and completely worth the wait.

Grace is fighting to stay human, and almost fails at simply staying alive. Sam is fighting to save her. Cole is fighting to do the impossible. And Isabel is fighting her own inner demons.

Cole was my hero in this one. I absolutely adore him as a character and I can't imagine having read this series without him. When I first "met" him in this series, I thought he was cocky and arrogant and a TOTAL jerk. By the end, he was still all those things, but he has the hugest heart. Even if he doesn't realize it or want to admit it. And you've got to hand it to him for his determination and way of figuring out the impossible.

I love Sam and Grace and Isabel. They all are completely different than they were when the series started, and yet... they're the same. Isabel's icy shell gets chipped away and you see the broken person she is with a heart of gold she doesn't want anyone to see. And won't admit she has. Sam is tired of letting fear rule his life and so he faces it head on and prevails. All the while never waivering in his love and loyalty for Grace. And Grace, just as steadfast and strong as ever. Even in her weaknesses.

But Cole... Cole was my favorite. And not just because when I was reading his parts I was reading them with Dan Bittner's voice ::sigh::, but because he was just amazing.

This is now one of my favorite series of all time. Without a doubt. If you haven't read any of The Wolves of Mercy Falls books, you should. Maggie is an amazing author and I'm so glad to have read the series. I can not tell you how much I loved this book.

Loved it.

Follow Friday #24

It's time again for Follow Friday! I'm a bit late posting this one, but better late than never right?
This weeks question:

Q: It’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. so we want to know what you are Thankful for – blogging related of course! Who has helped you out along the way? What books are you thankful for reading?

A. Well, there are a few different things.

1. First of all, I'm thankful for Jess aka The Cozy Reader. I don't remember how exactly I found her blog, but in doing so, I found literally HUNDREDS of books that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Some of them, unfortunately, I'm still waiting on. But I'd been in a reading rut, and I got so many great "suggestions" from reading her.
2. Second, I'm thankful for Siobhan at Totally Bookalicious for being my ONLY follower for the longest time when I restarted my blog.
3. I'm thankful for memes. Without them I wouldn't have gotten to meet some of the coolest book bloggers. I love checking in with The Story Siren every week to see what new books she has. It's a blast looking for teasers every Tuesday to post on Miz B's wall at Should Be Reading. And then of course there's Follow Friday brought to us by Parajunkee. I love reading her BB101 posts too. It's so fun to participate in these things and it gave me a chance to "meet" a lot of really cool people.
4. I'm thankful that blogging has opened up the book world to me. I've had the good fortune to meet Maggie Stiefvater in person during a book signing as well as authors like A.M. Hudson, Shelley Watters, and Lisa Mantchev online. They are all fantastic people and are all wonderful authors.

Books that I'm thankful for?

Harry Potter. Definitely. I used to read. A lot. And I know I've posted about this in here before somewhere, but I'm going to do it again. There was a time when I was severely depressed and couldn't figure out how to get out of my own way. I probably hadn't picked up a book in forever. And then I remembered Harry Potter. I'd read it in highschool, but I decided to pick it up again. Which was a big for me because I hadn't felt like even opening the cover of any other book in a long time.

Reading Harry Potter took me away from all the stuff that was being thrown in my face left and right. It let me be someone else for as long as I could stay awake and read it. It gave me something to look forward to and be excited about. And as silly as this may sound, while I'm reading, the characters in the books are my friends. It was my escape. They took me away to somewhere better. They let me stop hurting and being angry. I could breathe again.

I think Harry Potter will forever be my all time favorite series.

And with that, I've written too much and bored you all.

What were you all thankful for this year?

How Blogging Changed My Life

The very first "book blog" that I ever read was Reviews by Jess... now known as The Cozy Reader. I discovered several books that I'd never heard of and read them based on the reviews that she gave. I'd never had anyone to recommend me books before and so it was great to just be able to open up her page and find a lot that interested me.

I don't have a lot of friends who read the way I do. Well, let's be honest. I just don't have a lot of friends. Haha. I do have one or two on a different site who would tell me the books they liked. But blogging has opened up a whole world of people like me. I've read books I never would have picked up before simply because they covers didn't appeal to me (The Hungers Games). I've learned that it's ok to throw a book across the room and never pick it up again because it was horrible (Tower of Change).

It's brought authors down to human level for me. I read Maggie Stiefvater's blog on a regular basis and I think she is just hilarious. I bring up Jackson Pearce's youtube every couple of days to check for a new video and they're great to watch. Before, authors were unattainable to me. They were intimidating and unreachable and (this is going to sound wicked judgemental) haughty. But book blogging has shown me that they're just trying to make a living just like everyone else. And they LIKE their fans. They TALK to their fans.

It's given me something to talk about. Something that I LOVE. People who don't read books don't understand why I love the Hunger Games parody of Britney Spears's I Wanna Go. They don't understand why I fall in love with Mr. Darcy every time I hear his name. They don't understand why I wish I had a Jacob Black in my life. They don't know what WizRock is. They don't get why I get so excited if I win a give away or an author emails me about a review I've written about their book. They don't get why I'll read a book more than once and THEN listen to the audio version as well. Or why I can't throw or give any of my books away.

How has book blogging changed your life? Leave your link over at Parajunkee's site so I can check out your answer!