Harmony Book Reviews

You might remember that I did this post a while ago and there’s been quite a few requests to make it a weekly thing. So, every week Friday I will make a post of the books I’ve started and those I plan on starting next. I might also include books that I finished but feel need to be repeated. So here it goes…

I started this one the other day. I’m only a chapter or so into it and it’s not really what I was expecting but I like it. I look forward to finishing it later this week.

I’m also only a chapters into this one. I love the idea of it and Megan is really nice so I’m expecting great things from it. Hope to finish this one tomorrow.

I finished this one last week or so and ever since, I’ve been rereading it. It was 1,000 times better than I was expecting and I can’t get enough of it. I won’t be reviewing it until the T2T Tour but I wanted to share how awesome it was! (I like the cover my ARC has a lot better than the final cover, though!)

So that’s what I’m reading. What are you reading?

Title: Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover (Book 3 in the Gallagher Girl series)

Author: Ally Carter

Rating: 9/10

Good If… You’re a fan of the previous two Gallagher Girl Books.

Summary: (Taken from Amazon)

When Cammie “The Chameleon” Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she’s in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she’s there to watch Macey’s father accept the nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world’s best school (for spies), “exciting” and “deadly” are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnappers’ plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.
As her junior year begins, Cammie can’t shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn’t feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion’s corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can the Gallagher Girls keep her safe?
Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey’s private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth..

My Thoughts:

The Gallagher Girl series is one of my favorites. They’re packed with action but are also realistic in the drama/romance/friendship department. Don’t Judge a Girl is no different.

 From the first page on, the action never ends. There’s always a new twist coming, something that you never imagined coming. But it’s not just the running/fighting action – there’s always a new situation with a boy or with her friends that always change the circumstances. 

 Don’t Judge a Girl is my favorite in the series so far because you get to see a new side of her friends. They become more real, their lives outside of school become more important, and you get to see more of what makes them tick. We also get to see more of the guys and there’s definitely some unexpected twists in that department. I won’t give anything away but it does get interesting.

 The end leaves you wanting more but unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait a while for Book 4. I definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a little adventure

You’ve seen my gushing review, read the interview, and now you have the chance to win a copy of your own.  

To enter:

+1 Comment on this post answering the question “What makes a hero?”

+1 Follow me on Twitter

+1 Link to this somewhere (your blog, Twitter, whatever)

+1 every time you comment on another post (I’ll be keeping track in my email)

Leave EVERY entry (with the exception of the comments on other posts) in a separate comment below. You *must* comment here first to be entered.

Deadline: July 30th

(Winners of last month’s contests will be emailed. If you don’t receive an email tonight, you didn’t win)

Restless souls and empty hearts

Brooklyn can’t sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe’s ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn’t Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can’t stop. He’s always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca’s ghost begins leaving messages, telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they’re being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

–

First off, isn’t that the most gorgeous cover EVER? It’s spooky and inviting and gorgeous all at the same time! I love the summary to this. Sounds so good! Plus, it’s by Lisa and I’ve loved all of her books so far. I’m not sure whether this is in verse or not but I definitely want it!

This will be released Feb. 2010

Title: The Demon’s Lexicon

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Rating: 10/10

Good If… You’re looking for an action-packed fantasy that will keep you guessing!

Summary: (Taken from BN.com)

Nick and his brother, Alan, have spent their lives on the run from magic. Their father was murdered, and their mother was driven mad by magicians and the demons who give them power. The magicians are hunting the Ryves family for a charm that Nick’s mother stole — a charm that keeps her alive — and they want it badly enough to kill again.

Danger draws even closer when a brother and sister come to the Ryves family for help. The boy wears a demon’s mark, a sign of death that almost nothing can erase…and when Alan also gets marked by a demon, Nick is desperate to save him. The only way to do that is to kill one of the magicians they have been hiding from for so long.

Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians’ Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.

My Thoughts: ZOMG. This book kicks *SS. Now that that’s out of the way…

 The Demon’s Lexicon was far better than I was ever expecting. In fact, it was so good that I read it in only a couple hours. I put it down once to eat and that was all. If you read the summary and think you have a good idea of what the book is like, forget it. You’re wrong. Even if you’re reallyreally good at guessing the ending before it happens, something tells me this one will leave you clueless.

 Aside from the whole “can’t guess the ending” thing, the plot itself was absolutely fantastic. It was drawn out well but there was still tons of action and never a dull spot.

 The best thing about the book, though, was the characters. Each character had a distinct personality and something that made them unique. Even the secondary characters had something about them that made them unique. Their relationships with each other also played an important part in the novel, especially that between Nick, Alan, and their mother.

 I loved how magic played a major part in the novel but didn’t control it. That made the novel even more realistic and easy to relate to.

 The ending literally left me speechless and I went back to read it a couple times.

 I highly, highly recommend this one and I look forward to the next book!

So there’s this really awesome book that comes out in 2010. It’s the author’s debut novel and I’m not sure how much publicity the publisher is giving it. It deserves to be read by everyone so I plan on promoting it like crazy. However, I want to know your opinion on what works best.

What makes you want to run out and buy/pre-order a book? How far will you go to promote a book? Would you request your library gets it in? Post flyers in a cafe/bookstore/around town?

Do you enjoy things like Ballad Blitz or the Getting to Know Willow blog? Does the option of winning a bunch of prizes persuade you to buy the book or even buy it sooner? Would you rather one winner get a bunch of prizes or several winners each win something?

Any input/suggestions/comments you have on this would be EXTREMELY appreciated!

Title: After the Moment

Author: Garret Freymann-Weyr

Rating: 9.5/10

Good If… You’re looking for a heartbreaking novel about first love.

Summary: (Taken from Amazon)

Since I haven’t really posted much about my trip and I didn’t do an IMM last week or anything, I’m going to combine them. When I got home from my trip, I had a few packages laying on my bed. One of them had

which is for the Traveling to Teens tour. The other had a bunch of bookmarks from the author of Give Up The Ghost.

While I was down in the VA area, I got to go to my very first book signing. It was an Elizabeth Scott/Claudia Gray signing which so cool. At the time, I’d only read two Elizabeth books and No Claudia books but I was still super-excited. I bought

and had them signed. Since there weren’t that many people there, I got to talk to both authors. Elizabeth gave me some advice on getting published which was cool. Both authors are fantastic. I also got to meet James of Book Chic. He’s as awesome in person as he is online. It was just a really fun day.

After we left the signing, my aunt and I went book-hunting. I’m trying to revamp my library’s teen collection so we were trying to find some good deals.

First, we went to the Goodwill store. I picked up a copy of Marley and Me for myself and a cookbook for my mom. Then we stopped in the Alexandria library because someone said they sold book there. They didn’t have any because they’re getting ready for the booksale but the librarian showed me the teen section and I got a bunch of ideas. We were talking and she said that if I came down next year, she could get me a pass for ALA because it’s being held in D.C. SO. EXCITED>

After that, we went to Old Towne’s Books a Million. I’d never been in one of those stores before and since I didn’t have a card, I couldn’t get any of the sales. But then I found their reduced section. They had a bunch of books for $2.97 and even $1.97 so I picked up a couple, including:

I got a few others too but I can’t remember them right now.

I didn’t really get anything IMM this week with the except of a copy of Hero-Type that may or may not be for a contest

WORK ON BLOG WEEK.

I have over 20 reviews I need to write, a few pages I need to update, networking I need to do, and so many other things to do. I’m going to give myself a week to do the following and if I get 80% of the stuff done, I will reward myself by buying book instead of clothes. Anyone should feel free to join me, if they’d like.

Here’s What I Want to Accomplish:

-Write at least 15 reviews

-Get ahead on my WoW posts

-Update my Review Policy

-Redo my Blog Roll

-Update my categories

-Pick winners from contests

-Make a post schedule

-Network!

-Schedule Posts for the next couple weeks

-Whatever else I think of…

Title: Cathy’s Book

Author: Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

Rating: 6/10

Good If… You’re looking for an interactive book with an underdeveloped plot.

Summary: (Taken from Amazon)

This stunning debut combines reading with the world of internet gaming to create a masterful new genre that will allow teens to take the story from the page into the world of cyberspace and beyond.

Things weren’t so peachy in Cathy’s life before Victor broke up with her. Her father died unexpectedly, she’s failing school, and her best friend is mad at her. But when Cathy decides to investigate Victor’s reasons for ending their relationship, things suddenly go from bad to very, very, very bad as her findings produce more questions than answers. For instance, what does the death of Victor’s co-worker, the strange mark that appeared on Cathy’s arm, and the surreal behavior of several Chinese elders have to do with it?

Through Cathy’s unique and irresistible voice—and lots of proof in the form of letters, photographs, date book entries, telephone numbers readers can call, websites they can access, as well as secrets only a careful reader will be able to decipher—readers will enter a strange and fascinating world where things often aren’t how they appear.

My Thoughts: When I got this in the mail, I was so excited. I’d heard a lot about these books and couldn’t wait to read it. From the first page, I was hooked. But, unfortunately, as the book continued, it slowly began losing its appeal.

For one thing, I was confused half of the time. This is probably partly my fault but I just didn’t understand half of what was going on. That’s always a bad sign. Second of all, the characters and the plot were extremely underdeveloped. Nobody really had their own distinct personality. We got the inside peek at Cathy because it’s her diary but even some of her actions seemed random.

The plot had so much potential. It was new, it was original, and it was extremely underdeveloped. There was a lot of jumping around and it just seemed unrealistic. I guess this goes partly with the characters because a good plot would give the characters more sense.

The one part I did like was the interactive-ness of it. I loved how when you called the numbers, they actually SAID stuff. (Yeah, I tried it!) If you typed a website in, it would tie in with the book. That was the really cool part!

All in all, I think the authors spent a little too much time on the interactive stuff and not enough time developing their characters and the plot. Not too sure I’d recommend this one.