Wednesday, July 31, 2013

REVIEW ARCHIVE UPDATE: July 2013


Hello darlings! 

So some of you may be aware but Wake Up at Seven has been experiencing problems, and it's regretful, but I feel like I owe it to all of you lovely readers who have stuck with us through it to inform you that we don't know if it'll ever be fixed. This might sound odd, but for those unaware, Wake Up at Seven was going through an admin transfer and somehow - please don't ask me how, because if I knew I'd be yelling at Blogger for it - along the way, it seems like the admin role just...disappeared. This is about as far as I'm aware of the situation, that none of the bloggers at Wake Up at Seven have access to things such as updating Review Archives or tour banners, because those rights fall under an admin. I really don't know what else to do, and believe me when I've gone through periods of just wanting to give up or attempt to start all over again, but I can't just find it in myself to abandon Wake Up at Seven. Especially with Isabelle and Sarah on hiatus *kicks both*, and really just because I love blogging here. So I've come up with what I hope is a satisfactory resolution - at least for the Review Archive issue. At the end of each month, I'll try my hardest to remember to have a post up that'll give you a list of all the reviews on Wake Up at Seven up to that point, with the ones from that month added on and so on. Make sense? I hope it does and that you'll continue to stick with us and read what we have to say! 

Note: The titles that have been reviewed on Wake Up at Seven are alphabetically organized, but those that begin with "The..." or "A..." will be listed under the first letter the second word. Example: The Iron King will be found under I, instead of T. We apologize for any inconveniences! 

If you would like to contact me for a review of your book, please send an email to: kimberlyho75@yahoo.com

- Kaede

~♥~


• Above World by Jenn Reese (Kaede)
• Among the Nameless Stars by Diana Peterfreund (Kaede)
• Angelfall by Susan Ee (Isabelle) 
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (Isabelle)
• Awaken by Meg Cabot (Kaede)



• Chasing Mrs. Right by Katee Robert (Kaede)
• The Collector by Victoria Scott (Kaede)
• Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett (Isabelle) 
• Crimson Frost by Jennifer Estep (Kaede)




• Daughter Of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (Isabelle) 
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Isabelle)
        •    Delirium Review War (feat. Kat Kennedy)
• Derailed by Alyssa Rose Ivy (Kaede)


• Eon by Alison Goodman (Kaede) 


• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Isabelle)
• The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jenson (Kaede)


• The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter (Kaede)
• The Gods Among Us by DC Belton (Isabelle) 
• The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (Sarah)


• Hopeless by Colleen Hoover (Kaede)
• How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer (Kaede)



• The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Isabelle)



• Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle (Guest Review by Lucie)


• Legend by Marie Lu (Kaede)
• The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa (Kaede)



• Midnight City by J. Barton Mitchell (Kaede)
• A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger (Kaede) 
• Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (Sarah) • My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick (Isabelle) 

• Normalish by Margaret Lesh (Kaede)



• Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Sarah)  
• One Shot Away by T. Glen Coughlin (Kaede)


• Preloved by Shirley Marr (Sarah) 
• Prototype 2 by Dan Jolley (Kaede)




• Rape Girl by Alina Klein (Guest review by Lucie) 
• Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse (Kaede) 
• Rules of Entanglement by Gina L. Maxwell (Kaede)





• Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan (Kaede)
• Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan (Sarah)
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Isabelle) 
• Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (Kaede) 
• True by Erin McCarthy (Kaede)



• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (Kaede)
• Underworld by Meg Cabot (Kaede)• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (Kaede)
• Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan (Sarah)



• Veer by Alyssa Rose Ivy (Kaede)
• Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez (Isabelle) 






~♥~


Contact Kaede: 
Email: kimberlyho75@yahoo.com
Goodreads: Kaede
Twitter: Kami178xx




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Monday, July 29, 2013

BLOG TOUR: Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry (Review & Giveaway!)


WAITING FOR THE STORM 
By: Marie Landry
Review by: Kaede
Release Date: April 9th, 2013
Format: E-book
Source: Xpresso Book Tours

  
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.

After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…

Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?
WAITING FOR THE STORM surpassed my expectations with ease, presenting itself as an engaging and just compulsively readable contemporary novel. 

 While I was reading I realized how quickly I was flying through the pages, and that made me really happy because it was a sign that I was really liking the book. There was always something that kept me interested happening. 

 I think my favorite part of the story though was the pacing. Marie Landry didn't drag her story out, nor rush through it, but instead she went steady - which for me was perfect. 

All the characters that were introduced in WAITING FOR THE STORM were likable for me, except for maybe Alexis and Bianca because I didn't feel anything with them, just this kind of weird indifference. Admittedly it did take a little time, but I ended up really liking Charlotte. From the very beginning she was a realistic and believable character, and I liked her - don't get me wrong, but as we saw more and more of her and who she is, I began to love her. And I mean, Charlotte loves books and she starts blogging, and instant connection right there people. 

 I tilted my head and studied his face. "Are you hitting on me, Erza?"

 He laughed under his breath and lowered his head. "Yeah, I am." He looked at me through his thick lashes. "Is that okay?" 

I also loved Charlotte's relationship with Ezra (although every time I see this name I think of Erza from FAIRY TAIL and I really don't want to see an image of a girl in my head when we're talking about a boy in this case but I can't help it sometimes *cries*) and just how well they fit together. Charlotte and Ezra start off as friends and they begin to fall in love with each other and they were really cute together and wheee! 

 "...I said you could have everything else if you wanted, but I wanted that one. Just that one, and you took it like you take everything else."

 Charlotte's sister Ella won't start off as everyone's favorite character but I couldn't bring myself to hate her. There was a part - the bigger part - that said to despise her because she was so bratty, but there was also a part of me that said everybody deals with grief in their own way and this just how Ella is. 

 WAITING FOR THE STORM wasn't perfect, but while I did have a few small issues, most of them were extremely minor. However there was one thing that bothered me slightly, and I think it's because I've been seeing this issue used as a plot device in a few books now. Ella is assaulted by a guy, and as a result Charlotte is able to talk to her sister and finally understand her better. I believe an assault like that is a serious issue, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Ella the next day and nobody talks about it afterwards, and it just didn't sit right with me but I'm glad that Charlotte and Ella finally got to talk to each other about how they really feel.

 As a whole though, WAITING FOR THE STORM was very enjoyable with strong writing and an ability to express emotions clearly to the reader. There were twists I didn't expect, and if you think you might like WAITING FOR THE STORM even the slightest bit, then I would highly recommend going for it. I went in thinking I would at least like it, but I ended up with a story filled with characters I adored, and an author I'll definitely be following in the future. 
4 coffee cups! 

*An advance copy of this book was provided  for review. However, all opinions remain honest and my own.*


Marie Landry

Find Marie on Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
Marie Landry is the author of BLUE SKY DAYS (contemporary YA—January 2012), UNDRESSED (a collection of short erotic romance stories—October 2012), THE GAME CHANGER (chick lit—November 2012), and WAITING FOR THE STORM (contemporary YA—April 2013). Marie has always been a daydreamer; since early childhood, she’s had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews. For more on Marie and her books, please visit marielandry.blogspot.ca or check out her book blog Ramblings of a Daydreamer (sweetmarie-83.blogspot.ca).

~♥~

To celebrate the tour, Marie has reduced the price of WAITING FOR THE STORM to only 99 cents! I reallllly think you guys should pick up this deal, and if you don't have a Kindle, never worry! You can also get WAITING FOR THE STORM on Smashwords with the code BH53J! But there might be a chance to win WAITING FOR THE STORM waiting for you....


a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Stacking the Shelves (12 &13) + Weekly Roundup

NetGalley: 

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)The Enchanter Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #4)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Kaede fails at keeping up with Stacking the Shelves posts. *runs away* The good news though is that I only missed a week. Just one! That's not too bad, right? Right? I got some great books over the past two weeks, and I'm sure I probably left something out and will be hitting myself over it when I remember but will be too lazy to add it in, but...uh...yeah. What has everybody been reading? Anything good? And who got some great books this week? I'd love to know!

~♥~

SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo
SHADOW KISS by Richelle Mead 
BLOOD PROMISE by Richelle Mead
SPIRIT BOUND by Richelle Mead
THE WARRIOR HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima
THE WIZARD HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima
THE DRAGON HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima
THE ENCHANTER HEIR by Cinda Williams Chima
THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF TOMORROW by Avery Williams
BELLADONNA by Fiona Paul 
WEST SIDE STORY by Irving Shulman
CRASH INTO YOU by Katie McGarry (Note: there was a lot of squealing and weird happy dancing when I got this. o_o) 
PHOENIX by Elizabeth Richard
THE IRON TRAITOR by Julie Kagawa (There was also a lot of OHMYGODLOOKMOMLOOKDADLOOKNEIGHBORNEXTDOOR fangirling because Julie Kagawa is amazing BUT THE ENDING IS TERRIBLE. *sobs* I still love you book, fear not. It's just the next book's release date is so so far and and *cries even more* But guys when I found it was signed I almost died again. Two almost deaths because of books. This is not looking good for me and my dreams of living long...)
SOUL SCREAMERS Volume 2 by Rachel Vincent 
BETWEEN THE COVERS by Various Authors 
THE MOON AND MORE by Sarah Dessen
BLACK CAT; Volume 1 by Kentaro Yabuki
BLACK CAT; Volume 2 by Kentaro Yabuki
BLACK CAT; Volume 3 by Kentaro Yabuki
TIDAL by Amanda Hocking 
THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Stiefvater
All the love and thanks to Harlequin Teen, Penguin, Lisa Desrochers, Christina @ Ensconced in YA, Scholastic and Disney Hyperion on NetGalley for all the lovely books! And Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart of course. Tehehe. 

 Here's what you might have missed the last two weeks:

 Sunday: 
Sarah reviews THE WOKEN GODS by Gwenda Bond

Tuesday:
The trailer for FRIGID by J. Lynn was revealed

 Wednesday: 
Waiting on Wednesday: JUST ONE YEAR by Gayle Forman

 Saturday:
A Review of WITHER by Lauren DeStafano
~♥~


Contact Kaede: 
Email: kimberlyho75@yahoo.com
Goodreads: Kaede
Twitter: Kami178xx

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Saturday, July 20, 2013

Review of Wither by Lauren DeStefano


Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)
WITHER (#1) 
By: Lauren DeStefano 
Review by: Kaede
Release Date: March 22nd, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster 
Pages: 358
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought

  
By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?
When I started WITHER, I'm not quite certain what I expected from it. But it certainly wasn't what I got, although I couldn't be more pleased. 

 Captivating me with it's writing style from the very beginning, it was almost like there was a certain ease for me when it came to reading WITHER. Flipping pages after pages without the thought of putting it down was natural, and it had me wanting to stay up late to finishing it. Now for me, that is the markings of a good book. 

 I found that I felt something different for a lot of the characters we meet in WITHER. While I'm not sure if I connected with Rhine to the extent that I have with some other heroines, her narrative was one I enjoyed. I liked Rhine because she was strong and felt real to me. Trapped in a pretty prison, Rhine is determined to escape, find her brother, and return to the life she was forcefully taken from. But will there be some things not worth forsaking for a chance at freedom? Linden was a bit of a difficult character for me to place my feelings on, because in one sense I did like him, but in another I really hated him. Hated him for being able to be so blissfully naive and ignorant of the world outside when so many people - Rhine included - don't have that opportunity. But also like Rhine, I couldn't bring myself to ever fully hate him completely, or really at all...too much, and found that maybe I did like Linden. Although I couldn't stop the voice in the back of my head that hoped that somebody would tell Linden everything that his father had done. Anybody? 

 Rhine's relationship with her sister wives was something I liked seeing, because the contrast in all three of them was so apparent. Their views differed, and yet they were still able to form a connection. Cecily was my least favorite of the three because there were times where she really annoyed me, but I could understand where she was coming from. Cecily is the youngest, a bit of a dreamer, and believes the mansion is a place she can be happy, especially considering that she has everything now when she had nothing before. 

 Vaughn was a slightly disturbing character, because of all the things he did without so much of a second thought. I think he's the type of person that if I knew him in real life, every time he enters the same room, I'd run out because...well...uhm...I like to live? 

 All in all, I think you can definitely tell the characters and their relationships were my favorite part of WITHER. From Gabriel to Jenna, there was something interesting about each individual we meet in the story. DeStefano was also able to create Rowan, a character we don't know officially, but is described by Rhine to the point where I can have such a clear view of him that it's almost like he was present in the story the whole time. 

 The world building aspect was satisfying, but it definitely isn't this series's strong point. I know that there are a lot of readers who consider the world building weak, but personally I've never really saw detailed, plausible world building as a requirement for a enjoyable dystopian. It's nice to have certainly, but if there are other elements I enjoyed, and the world seems possible, then it's good enough for me most of the time, which worked in WITHER's favor. 

 Essentially, Lauren DeStefano's writing is not only simply solid, but comes so naturally you can't help but be pulled in. If you can put aside the fact that you probably won't find one of the most layered and complex worlds in young adult dystopian, I think there is a very good chance you'll really like WITHER. I mean, honestly, there had to be something special about it if I was so insistent on finishing it in one night, even though I had two exams the next day and I barely had enough time to study because I was reading.

 If anything, Lauren DeStefano is the type of author that I feel will only get better and better, and so I will definitely read every book she comes out with from here on with confidence that they'll be amazing. 
4 coffee cups! 

~♥~


Contact Kaede: 
Email: kimberlyho75@yahoo.com
Goodreads: Kaede
Twitter: Kami178xx
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