LC's 1,000 Follower Giveaway

LC just reached 1,000 followers, and she's got an awesome giveaway on her blog.  Enter, and you can win either an entire set of books or an individual book of your choosing.

http://lcsadventuresinlibraryland.blogspot.com/2011/11/lcs-1000-follower-giveaway.html
Go go go!

Which do you like better?

My sectioned reviews or my big ramble reviews?

I'm trying to decide which one to stick with. On the one hand, the sectioned reviews sort of force me to stay on track and comprehensible, but they're also a little bit limiting. Whereas, with the big ramble reviews, I can say whatever I want--whether or not it fits in one of the sections--but it tends to be just that: a ramble.

So which one do you guys like better?  That'll probably be the deciding factor.

Dark Inside

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

This was a really fantastic read.

I've been wanting this book for months.  I mean, Jeyn is awesome, the premise is awesome, the cover is awesome, the reviews were awesome, so that all led me to think this would be a pretty freaking awesome book.  And I was not wrong.

There are many things I liked about this book.  It was horrifying and haunting and thought-provoking.  The writing was powerful and even beautiful in certain places. 

But possibly the thing I liked most about this book is one of the reasons I like dystopian/apocalyptic novels in general: I loved seeing just how people, real people, reacted to such a horrible and devastating situation.  Jeyn really took us to the heart of the human spirit and showed us how some can be so courageous in the face of danger, and others so cowardly, and how sometimes, they can be both.  Not all of our characters are heroes.  One of the main characters even commits an extremely selfish act that hurts many others, but the thing is . . . I didn't hate him for it. I thought I would, but I didn't.  Because when I think about it, really think about it, if I had been in that situation . . . would I have done any differently?

The answer is no. No, I probably wouldn't have.

And that's what's so great about this.  There is no pretty sheen to Jeyn's characters.  They are real, intensely flawed human beings, and I love them for it, and I loved seeing just how people changed when tragedy came calling.  Who became the leaders, who became the followers. Who became the heroes, and who became the cowards.  Who couldn't be quite sure what they were.

I only had two problems with this novel.  The first is that some of the dialogue was a bit awkward. The majority of it was actually very realistic, but there were a few lines--mostly ones by Daniel or Chickadee--that just sounded awkward when I tried to say them.  However, I'm going to be lenient here, because despite being unrealistic the lines were really powerful/intriguing.

The second problem is that I still feel a bit left in the dark.  I mean, it's made 100% clear on the last page who Nothing is, though it isn't directly spelled out, but we still have very little information about the Baggers and the evil that's possessed them.  I realize this is only the first book in a series, I just would've liked a bit more information.

But really, overall, this was a stunning debut novel. Harsh, gritty, and surprisingly deep, Dark Inside is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes their books dark.  (That makes me think of coffee.  "Harsh, gritty, in a surprisingly deep cup, Parkland Coffee is a coffee I would recommend to anyone who likes their coffee dark.")

Final note--the cover! I freaking love the cover.  It's so, so fitting.  With the fading, dusty city in the background, the shaded forms, the deep earthquake cracks, the eyes with black veins like the Baggers--it's perfect, and very eyecatching. Bravo, Simon & Schuster!

4 stars.

City of Glass

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight. 

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City?

Whatever the cost?

Warning: here there be many spoilers. Read at your own risk.

So.  City of Glass. My last TMI re-read.  You know what?
I'm glad I re-read these.

There are some things I really liked about City of Glass, and some that I really didn't.  Just like there are some things I really like about TMI in general, and some things I really don't.  I'm going to mention the biggest dislikes first, so I can just get those out of the way.

1. I feel like Clare was not thinking of the whole "two boys" thing when she wrote CoB and CoA.  Because I don't recall Jace mentioning even ONCE that Valentine would disappear on him for days at a time, and I think that's something someone would mention, especially considering how often he's brought up.  There was just no foreshadowing to that.

2. Possibly my biggest problem with Clare's writing: the repetition.  I know you were thinking the similes, and those are my second biggest problem, but she did get ever-so-slightly better with those in this one.  But it's the repetition that kills me. She recycles the same phrases over and over and over again.  It's like she thought of a cool description and decided to describe everything that could possibly be described that way with those words.  I can't even count how many times I stumbled on a phrase and realized, "Hey, I've read that before. Six or seven times."

3. THE FACT THAT CASSIE CLARE FREAKING SOLD OUT.  Read the ending. Look very carefully at the ending.  Is there something you notice? Like the fact that everything's ALL TIED UP AND THERE'S A STRONG SENSE OF CLOSURE? LIKE THE END OF A TRILOGY? 
Oh, but my mistake. This isn't a trilogy anymore, it's a series.
Really. I'm sorry, but I hate when authors do that. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.  Cassie Clare, why did you accept? Why?
I'm just going to pretend that this is the last book. I don't ever intend to read City of Fallen Angels, because in  my mind, this is the end. This is it.


Alright, so I had other problems, but I'm too tired to mention them right now. Most of them have already been mentioned in my previous reviews, and the rest are just nitpicks.

There were actually a good amount of things I liked about this book, and if asked, I will name them.  But the only thing I'm going to tell you in this review is the reason I gave it four stars, not three like the others.

It made me cry.

I know. Weird, isn't it? TMI . . . and crying?  Those aren't two things I usually think of together, and I'm about 99% certain I didn't cry the first time around.

But I did this time.

After Jace was stabbed, when Valentine drew him onto his lap and rocked him like a little kid.  I cried.  It wasn't just a faint sting in the eyes, it was actual, honest crying.

And the thing is? I wasn't crying for Jace, or at least I'm pretty positive I wasn't.  I already knew he'd be back and better than ever in a couple pages. No, that's not it.

I was crying for Valentine.

And that is why I gave this four stars.  Not only did it make me cry, but it made me cry for the villain.  In most books, I am happy when the villain dies. Triumphant. Gleeful.  And while there was a faint sense of triumph, mostly what I felt was just . .  . sadness. Because yes, Valentine's moral compass was skewed beyond repair, and yes, he had done and intended to do terrible things, but in the end, he still had a soul. He was still human.  And he truly thought that what he was doing was the right thing, a noble cause.

4 stars.

Overall
The Mortal Instruments series is not stunning. It is not life-changing. It is not one of those series where I will poke you in the virtual face until you pick it up and read it and love it and reread it and love it again.  But the books are good, engaging reads that captured both my attention and my imagination.  If you're just looking for some easy, action-filled books to read, or you're a fan of urban fantasy, or both, I'd recommend you pick up this series.

Waiting on Wednesday(1)

Yes, yes, another meme. Because, as it so happens, I still have too much time on my hands, and I am still bored.

**Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at the Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.**

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Publish Date: November 15, 2011 by HarperCollins

MY TOUCH IS LETHAL. MY TOUCH IS POWER.

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting asThe Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

So, I'm aware that many people in the world of book blogging have already read this and that it's not exactly new news, but I, myself, have not yet read it, and I've wanted it since I first saw it on inkpop's blog.  I mean, just look at the idea! A girl with a lethal touch in a dystopian world ravaged by disease? Does that not reek of awesome?

Plus, the cover. It's so shiny.

I thought I'd have to wait till Thanksgiving for this one(I get my Chanukkah presents on Thanksgiving, not Chanukkah--it's a long story) but thanks to the lovely Zoey(You should check out her blog. Look. A pretty link.) I shall most likely be getting it sooner.

Anyways. Yeah. What's your WoW?

Teaser Tuesday(1)

I have the time today, and I'm bored, so I thought, why not?

Teaser Tuesday, a meme hosted by Should Be Reading is really easy and fun to participate in. All you have to do is:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

"It might not have been a crackpot," Alec said.  "They're stationed guards at the paths that go to the lake, and set up wards that will warn them if anyone Portals there."
"Fantastic. I'm sure we all feel very safe now."


So, there you go! What are you reading this Tuesday?