The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Release Date: February 16, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 307
Source: ARC from publisher
Rating:  
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Colby’s post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Bev would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe. When Bev she announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future. – Goodreads

Review:
The Disenchantments was a fresh, fun, and very relatable read. Have you ever made big plans that never happened? Or perhaps been let down by a friend? Been unsure of where you were going in life? I think these are all universal things everyone experiences, in one way or another, and Nina LaCour brings them to life in this book with a road trip and some rock ‘n’ roll.

Bev and Colby have graduated from high school and their big plan is to take a year off from the reality that their peers are facing, of going to college, and instead embark on a trip around Europe. It has been their plan for years and all they have left to do is a week long tour with The Disenchantments and, then, purchase their tickets out of the country. Sounds great, right? Except Bev drops a bomb on Colby right before they set out on tour with the band: she’s going to college in the fall and she’s not going to Europe with Colby.

Even though the book was told from Colby’s POV, obviously giving me only his side of the story, I think I would have sided with him anyway. He’s so easy going and likable, especially in comparison to Bev’s moodiness, and it SUCKED MAJOR that Bev kept him completely in the dark. I know it can be difficult to be honest, the awfulness of having to hurt someone and wanting to delay doing that, but it was so easy to feel how lost Colby felt; not only did his plans drastically change — what does he do next?! — but their friendship suffered a blow, too.

With two of the four friends at odds during the final Disenchantments tour, the road trip up Northern California could have been a depressing disaster. There were some tense moments, with Colby trying to find out Bev’s reasoning for her change of plans and her silence in return, but LaCour captured a great energy with her characters. Alexa and Meg, the two other members of the band, were light and humorous, and they were good friends to both Colby and Bev. The small towns and venues that they visited were interesting, full of quirky characters, and the music, both the classics and that from the band itself, only added to the dynamic ambiance. The Disenchantments was a very enjoyable read that was easy to connect with. I encourage you to give it a go!

Have you read the book? Rate it and comment with your thoughts below!

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Release Date: September 29, 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 372
Source: LAPL
Rating:  
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London, it’s the start of a new life at a boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. – Goodreads

Review:
I can’t believe it took me so long to read this book! I had it out from the library months ago, but I let the loan date expire because I am the worst when it comes to those things. Then Lindsey posted her review and, since we agree on pretty much every book, I knew I had to read it and I knew I would enjoy it. And I did!

This is the first Maureen Johnson book that I’ve read and I have so say that I’m impressed! She did an amazing job setting up the atmosphere of London and Wexford, as well as detailing the history of Jack the Ripper. I’ve never been to London, and I’ve never lived at a boarding school, but it was very easy to experience Rory’s gradual comfort into both. The Jack the Ripper details never felt like information overload and, instead, had me wanting to find out more about this serial killer.

While I did like how Johnson realistically portrayed the media circus and “entertainment” surrounding the new murders, I have to say that I was a tiny bit disappointed by the creep factor. Maybe I expected too much, or maybe I’ve grown immune to the things that go bump in the night (ha, yeah right!), but nothing in the story really got my heart racing or gave me the heebie jeebies. The book was still great, but I was actually looking forward to some scary, thrilling scenes and they were just lukewarm for me.

The romantic storyline was something I felt lukewarm about, too. I liked Jerome enough, and I did enjoy their scenes together, but the spark that usually has me flailing over fictional couples wasn’t there. Lucky for me, I think there were hints for something more in the upcoming sequel(s). Fingers crossed!

The best part of this book? The characters! Rory was an awesome protagonist and she had such a great rapport with the side characters, namely Jazza and Boo. Boo was probably the biggest surprise of the book for me. When she was introduced I was rolling my eyes, expecting the worst, but she really turned my opinions around. Stephen and Callum were welcome additions to the cast, too, and I loved to see their layers peeled back as the story progressed.

While I was enjoying the book, I remembered that it was the first in a series and I found myself thinking, “Eeek, how can this be expanded and still be good?” Thankfully, Maureen Johnson has more imagination than I do and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens after the turn of events in the last chapter. This is definitely a new favorite series!

Have you read the book? Rate it and comment with your thoughts below!

Goddess Interrupted by Aimée Carter
Release Date: March 27, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Pages: 304
Source: Netgalley
Rating:  
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Kate Winters has won immortality.

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it.

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.

Henry’s first wife, Persephone. – Goodreads

Review:
I enjoyed The Goddess Test. I did. So it was a little heartbreaking to find myself wondering, “Where did it all go wrong?!” when I finished the latest installment to the trilogy, Goddess Interrupted. It’s easy to pinpoint why it didn’t work for me, though: the characters and story didn’t grow very much.

While it wasn’t quite a rehash of the first book, the relationship between Henry and Kate made me want to bash my head against a wall because any previous development between them seemed to have disappeared. It was impossible to root for them when they were both such miserable characters. I was really fed up with Kate constantly being whiny and Henry’s inability to be anything but mopey and sullen. I understand wanting to keep some sort of tension and conflict going on in the books, but it didn’t work here. Considering they’re married and all, they should understand the simple concept of communication, right? Instead, it came across that they were complete burdens to each other. Ugh.

I wasn’t very engaged with the central plot, mostly because I was busy rolling my eyes at the Persephone storyline and Henry’s role in that, but I also found issue with the involvement of the other gods. It’s impossible to keep track of them and none of them, with the exception of Ava and James, have any layers to them. I found they unnecessarily convoluted the story.

And then there’s the ending. It’s a cliffhanger for sure and I can easily see other readers screaming over the torturous wait ahead. My screams, however? 100% pure terror. That may sound dramatic, but if there’s one storyline I can’t handle, it’s the one we’re heading for in The Goddess Inheritance.

Despite the issues I found with the book, Aimée Carter has a certain ease in her books that leaves me unable to put them down. She’s able to make the emotions her characters feel come across on the page and I think that’s what keeps me hooked. Although I’m not a fan of the direction the trilogy is heading in, I will be continuing on with the third book to see how the series concludes and see how the characters deal with it all.

Have you read the book? Rate it and comment with your thoughts below!

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Add it on Goodreads

Does this sound awesome or what? I don’t remember when I came across this title, but it’s definitely one I’ll be counting down to. I hope lots and lots of creepiness lies ahead and that it will be as gripping as it sounds.

What are you waiting on this week?

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, here is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday.

Top 10 Books That Broke Your Heart A Little

I’m an emotional freak, I cry over just about everything, but here are the ten books that immediately came to mind (in no particular order):

01. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I just posted my review for this one recently, but I will repeat myself: I was sooo overwhelmed by the combination of feeling so much happiness and sadness at the same time. Beautiful, beautiful book.

02. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – If you’ve read this book then you probably know what scene left me feeling so drained. I actually had to step away from reading for a while because I was crying too much. If I even think about it, I feel teary, ahhhhhhhh.

03. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – This book is pretty much the definition of heartbreak. Enough said.

04. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver – Lauren Oliver is an author that always makes me cry and this is the first time she managed to get those tears flowing out of my eyes. It was an incredible journey with Sam and YEAH…tears.

05. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater – Yes, this had some sad moments, but it mostly broke my heart because it was so perfect. Does that even make sense? Whatever, go with it. I was weeping when it was over.

06. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – I feel the same way about this book that I do The Book Thief: it is so brutal and brilliant and leaves me needing someone to hold me while I sob uncontrollably.

07. Where She Went by Gayle Forman – Tears were expected with If I Stay, but they were out of control with this one. Adam was a tornado of emotions and Gayle Forman did such an amazing job in having the reader experience them with him.

08. The Amber by Spyglass by Phillip Pullman – IF YOU DID NOT CRY OVER THAT ENDING, YOU ARE NOT HUMAN. No, but really, it is devastating.

09. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – If you’ve seen the movie then you have an idea of how touching the material is. And yet the book was 100x more affecting; I grew to love the characters so, so much.

10. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – This book was hella depressing. It was bleak and my favorite died. Really, I felt so gutted reading this book.

Did any of my picks make your list? What books broke your heart?