Harmony Book Reviews

Guess what I got in the mail yesterday?! Paradise Lost by Kate Brian!

I read it as soon as I opened it and finished it before bed.

Anyway, I was just curious to see what everyone’s views on the Private series were. One of my earlier reviews was for the second book in the series and I got a ton of mixed responses to that. Many people (teens) said they loved the series but then the adults chimed in and said they hated them due to certain subjects approached in the books.

Me? I adore the books. They’re my guilty pleasure reads. My only complaint is that they’ve started getting repetitive. (Reed thinks somebody is stalking, everyone tells her she’s silly, then the book ends with some big disaster that proves she was right.) I’ll be honest – they aren’t the most well-written books and don’t have the best character development but I just get sucked right in every time. There’s such a unique cast of characters and the plots are usually so ridiculous they rock.  Josh and Dash are the coolest guys ever and I was definitely disappointed that they weren’t in PL that much. Hopefully, they’ll be in the next book (anyone know when this comes out?) and I can’t wait to see what happens.

So if you do like the Private series, why? Who’s your favorite character? What was your favorite book? If you don’t, why not?

Since I haven’t posted in a while and it hurts to much to type up a complete review, I was just wondering… what’s everyone reading right now?

Me, I’m reading The House on Mango Street which is pretty good, as well as Semiprecious by D. Anne Love which I LOVE. I’ll probably finish it tonight. Inbetween, I’m also rereading parts of the Twilight books just because I feel like it.

Also, to those who won in the last round of contests, I haven’t sent your packages out yet. I hope to get them out either this week or next. Sorry for the delay!

Lately, it seems that I’ve been reading books that I just can’t get into. With most of these, I’m past the 50pg point so I don’t need to keep reading but all of these shining reviews keep popping and I can’t help but think I should go back and give them another chance. So here’s your chance. If you think I should go back and give these another shot, leave me a comment and tell me why.

Rowan of the Wood. I just can’t get into it. It fell sort of flat and un-intriguing, despite the shining reviews I’ve seen. But, I’m wondering if maybe it has something to do with the cover?

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before. I was positive I was going to like this one and, at first, I really did. It was catchy and the narrative had me laughing. But then I got kind of bored with it. Nothing was happening. So I put it down and never picked it back up.

Flygirl.  I love historical fiction so I figured this was something I’d fall in love with. At first, I was hooked. Then, just like with SMIYHTOB, I became uninterested. But now everyone is saying how amazing this one is. Did anyone else not find it so completely mind-blowing?

Shelter Me.  With this one, I was never sure whether I loved or hated it. The voice seemed dry and to be frank, the characters annoyed the crap out of me.  I made it to page 60 or so, put it down to pick up later, and now it’s still sitting there.

What do you guys think? Should I give any of these another shot?

Sorry it took so long for me to get these up but here are the winners:

Willow – Brooke from ReviewsbyBrooke

Because I Am Furniture + Razorbill Tshirt – The Book Obsession

Razorbill Tshirts – Cecilia and Paradox

Eon – Katie

Make a Soundtrack winner – Julie (chosen randomly)

Since my wrist hurts really bad, I’m going to ask that all winners email me at harmonybookreviews@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone who entered the contests!

*I was expecting both of these, though I didn’t know when they’d be coming.  After the Moment looks really good, even though I wasn’t too sure what it was about until I read the back. I’m not positive but it seems like a kinda serious novel. TMI looks really fun and I love the whole blog aspect of it. I can’t wait to get to these!!

*This came from Lauren. I don’t normally read these types of books but I figured, why not? I also recieved Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter,  but no cover art is available. I’m really excited for it, though!

I also went to the library and brought home a stack of books so I won’t bother with coverart. I got:

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen This is my favorite SD book and I was in the mood for it but unfortunately, I don’t have my own copy yet. I reread it last night.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I haven’t read anything by Anderson yet and since I’ve heard a lot about it, I decided to pick it up.

Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter. Since I recieved the third book in the mail, I figured it was finally time to read the second.

Sharing Sam by Katherine Applegate and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I picked these two up randomly because they looked good.

Prey by Lurlene Daniels and Semiprecious by D. Anne Love. I’ve only read one book by Daniel’s before but this looked really good so I had to try it. I picked Semiprecious up because I read Defying the Diva and loved it so I wanted to try this one out too.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I haven’t fallen off the face of Earth. I have, however, fractured my wrist, which makes typing incredibly awkward. I’m getting over it though, so expect more posts soon. Also, I’ll be answering everyone’s emails soon.

Since much of the past few days has been spent in waiting rooms, I’ve had some time to get ahead on my reading so I have lots of reviews to write!

Title:Faketastic

Author: Alexa Young

Rating: 8.5/10
Title:Faketastic

Author: Alexa Young

Rating: 8.5/10

Summary: (Taken from Amazon)

From besties to worsties and back again . . .

Team Avalon:

For Avalon, staying on top of trends has never been a problem—until her fellow cheerleaders decide that her BFF Halley is definitely outthis season. Now Avalon must choose between the frenemy who embarrassed her in front of everyone or the new friends who stood by her.

vs.

Team Halley:

Halley thinks she’s got it all: her forever-friend Avalon, her new bestie Sofee, and the hottest fall wardrobe at Seaview Middle School. Her life is a total YES. But when Sofee spies Avalon flirting with Halley’s crush, will it be World War Halvalon all over again?

My Thoughts: When I first finished this on my way home from D.C., I remember commenting to a few different people that I didn’t believe it was quite as good as the first. But when I started typing up all the reasons I liked this, I realized there were quite a few improvements on the first book. Which, of course, means that I was considering only the ending when I made those comments.

Anyway, on to those improvements I was talking about. For one, Halley and Avalon both matured a great deal. Halley became more relatable and Avalon lost quite a bit of her annoyingness. The things they were fighting about had a lot more substance, and it wasn’t just about who was wearing the most fashionable clothes.

Another thing that I enjoyed was that the supporting characters were starting to have their own personalities. Sophie, Wade, and most of the cheerleaders started to stand out more. I would definitely have liked to hear more about the Dead Romeos, though.

My favorite part of the whole book? Wade! Young knows how to create a relationship that everyone can relate to, even though it doesn’t turn out perfectly.

Faketastic is the perfect book for the tween crowd, especially those who enjoy fashion. But I think anyone looking for a fun read would enjoy it.

*I recieved both of these books from the authors and I’m excited for both of them.  I’ve never read any of Serena’s previous novels but the summary makes this one look really cute. The Demon’s Lexicon is (I believe) Brennan’s debut novel and though I haven’t been reading much fantasy lately, this caught my attention and I can’t wait to read it!

*I got those 5 from a fellow reviewer. They all look really good but I’m especially excited for Love, Meg because I read All About Vee, the author’s other novel, and really enjoyed it. I also already read Freeze Frame, which was really good, so be expecting a review soon.

*I borrowed those three from a friend. I read books 1&3 in the Keystone Stables series when I was younger so when I found out that she had these, I needed them. Big Fat Manifesto is a book I heard about a long time ago and have been wanting to read ever since. I’ll most likely be getting to that soon.

So that was my week. I can’t wait to get started on these!

I know I haven’t posted in nearly a week (maybe more) but things have just gotten crazy around here. I’m in a reading slump and have no ambition to do anything. Tomorrow is going to be pretty busy but after that, I HOPE to get some posts up this weekend.

For now, I bring you this message: Pre-order Willow by Julia Hoban TODAY. You’ll love it!

But that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. I have a bunch of reviews to write, but no motivation, a stack of books to finish, but no concentration, and no ambition to do anything else. So I’m going to waste my day trying to figure out how to make some money and looking up books I don’t need on Amazon.

But you should go check out this awesome contest.

Oh, and if there’s anyone who’s good at making things with graphics (like forum signatures and stuff), email me.