Waiting on Wednesday (3) - Leona

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to share the books that you are highly anticipating!  


This week I am waiting on Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan! I adored the first one and cannot wait for the next one! 

Expected publication: July 17th 2012


Summary from Goodreads:
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...

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Cover Reveal: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - Leona

In Clockwork Princess, Tessa and her companions travel all over the world as they race to stop the clockwork army before it's too late. As Jem's health worsens alarmingly and his friends search desperately for a cure, can Tessa choose between the two boys she loves — even if it means never seeing the other one again?




It's here! The cover for Clockwork Princess has finally been revealed! It is STUNNING!!! 


Did you take part in the cover reveal on twitter? It was hectic and we got #clockworkprincess to trend....WORLDWIDE! 


Having now seen the cover I am dying to read it!!!! 

Come on the release day!!

What do you think of it? Do you love it as much as I do???

Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins - Leona

Summary from Goodreads:
Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Sweet Evil has been on my TBR list for ages and I finally ordered it! Now, let us take a minute to admire the gorgeous cover!

I was a little disappointed with it if I am completely honest. I had hyped this book up and it didn't deliver for me. I liked a lot of the plot turns but it wasn't my favourite read ever. It is a new take on the angel/demon trend that is going around nowadays! This one is a bit darker though!

The blurb had me intrigued. I mean 'What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?' how can that not intrigue you?

There was a little case of insta-attraction. I am not a fan of this at all. I'm sure that in real life there is insta-attraction I'd just rather not read about it in books. However, I still loved the romance and the relationship between Anna and Kaidan! 

There was good character development throughout the book. Each character was brilliantly written and I really enjoyed learning about them. 

The writing in this book was a plus. Sweet Evil is a well written book that left me thinking about it even after I finished it! I didn't love it as much as I thought I would but I still liked it!

Being the hopeless romantic that I am the ending made me want to cry! I need the next book!!! 

Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano - Megan

Synopsis from Goodreads
Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

I'm not sure what compelled me to read this book considering it's predecessor, Wither, failed to deliver an appealing story but I suppose having read various reviews claiming that Fever was an improvement and then being bombarded with Sever hype ultimately persuaded me to give this book a try.


I'd like to start off by saying yes, this book is definitely a step-up from Wither. We finally get a taste for the outside world that Rhine was craving for in the first book although not at the scale that I was anticipating. The world-building still lacks logic so when we're introduced first-hand to a dystopian world full of kidnappings, polygamous marriages, prostitution and child molestation there is no shock factor present and despite DeStefano's best attempts, the horror we're meant to feel fails to exist.


The characterisation took a somewhat big step forward though. Rhine became more bearable in this instalment with her new courageous, survival-orientated attitude and I found her to be more realistic although still not particularly memorable. DeStefano introduces us to some new intricate characters such as the mute Maddie - malformed and emotionally challanged, she proved to be an intriguing child - her mother Lilac, a sad and bitter prostitute; Silas, an orphan with conflicting emotions; and Madame, a delusional sexual exploiter who is, basically delusional. 


Rhine and Gabriel's romance felt a little too much like watching paint dry. There was no chemistry and no real emotion between them that would have ultimately cemented their relationship in the end. Gabriel was more of a whiny puppy constantly fretting over Rhine, which was sweet at first but gradually became rather annoying as the plot progressed.

I found myself to be impressed with the plot twists and on several occasions I was hitting a brick wall regarding my guesses as to what happens next. I also noticed an improvement in the writing - it developed a more vibrant prose and it's fluency captivated me throughout.


I'm still not overly fond of this series but I'm anticipating the final instalment Sever although without high expectations.




Rating: 3/5 stars

Liebster Blog Award

 I got nominated by Gin Bryant over at Addicted to Words. Make sure to follow her blog and check out her Liebster Award post!:) Thank you Gin!

So what is the Liebster Blog Award?

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers and Liebster is a German word which means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

 The rules:

1.Each person must post 10 facts about themselves

2.Answer 10 questions the tagger has given you and give 10 questions for the people you’ve tagged.

3.Choose 10 people and link them in your post.

4.Tell them you’ve tagged them.

10 facts about me:

• I began playing guitar after I first saw Taylor Swift playing on TV!
• My favourite band is The Fray!
• It takes a great deal of energy for me to be able to walk out of a bookshop without a book!
• I love scary movies and the movie that scared me the most was The Strangers!
• My favourite T.V show is Law and Order: Special Victims Unit!
• I once played The Urbz: Sims in the City for 26 hours straight!
• I want to be a history and politics teacher as well as a writer!
• I ADORE the Batman movies!
• One of my favourite actors, Liam Cunningham, once answered my question on TV!
• I am very opinionated!

My 10 questions from Gin!

• How long have you been blogging?

I have been blogging for almost a year! It's still surreal!

• Who is your favorite book character and why?

Thats a hard one! I would have to say Mary-Lynette Carter from Daughters Of Darkness! (Book 2 of the Night World series by L.J Smith) She is strong and didn't give up on her dreams because of a guy! She carried on following her dreams!

• Who is your favorite author?

L.J Smith! I have read every single one of her books, even the short stories on her website!

• Movie first or book first?

 BOOK! That way I can make a fair judge on the movie about what parts they left out! For example, the one thing that The Hunger Games left out that really annoyed me was that District 11 didn't send Katniss the bread!

• Contemporary or Fantasy?

 I haven't read alot of fantasy so I would have to say contemporary!

• What is the worst book you've ever read and did you finish it?

 Oh, it would be Carrier Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon. I did but let me tell you it was a struggle!

• Where is your favorite place to read?

 My room! I have peace and quiet and I'm not distracted by the TV!

• On average, how many books do you read every week?

 Well lately it's gone down but about 3 or 4!

• Physical book or ebook?

 Physical all the way!

• Book store or delivered to your door?

 Hmm....That a tough one! I would say book store, just because I can have them straight and don't have to wait until the are delivered!

Now for my choice! Here's the ten blogs I have tagged!

 Read. Write. Ramble.

 Book Addict

 Kate's Reads

 Jess's Book Blog

 Babbling about books and stuff

 Auggie Talk

 The Daydreamer's Book Of Obsession

 Bookish Whimsy

 Insomnia of Books

 Readers Live A Thousand Lives

And now my questions!

1. What made you want to start a blog?
2. What has been the highlight of your blogging experience?
3. If you could get two authors to write a book together who would it be and why?
4. What is your all time favourite book cover?
5. Roughly, how many books do you read a month?
6. What is your thought on books being made into films?
7. What advice would you give to people who don't know if they should start a blog or not?
8. Do you prefer buying or borrowing books?
9. If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?
10. If you could visit any country in the world, where would it be and why?