Waiting on Wednesday: Boundless by Cynthia Hand

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

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Add it on Goodreads

No synopsis yet!

This one is ways off, so I am pretty much just torturing myself by posting it, but I am so anxious to find out how Clara’s story concludes. Unearthly and Hallowed were both fantastic and so full of heart that I know Cynthia Hand will find a way to get some tears out of me. Plus, Tucker and Christian?! Ahhhh, so torn! I’m ready to see Boundless on the shelf next to Unearthly and Hallowed.

What are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books To Read In A Day

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and features a new top ten list each week.

Books To Read In A Day

Here are books that I read in one sitting (or day) and that I could not step away from aka some of the best ones.

01. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins – I don’t read a lot of YA contemporary so I was pretty sure this wouldn’t be my thing. I started it before bed thinking, “I’ll read a few pages.” Cut to 3AM or so and I had just finished and had the silliest grin on my face.

02. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Is anyone able to put this down?! This was such an intense reading experience for me. As was Catching Fire immediately following. And Mockingjay when that was released.

03. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick – SPEAKING OF INTENSE. This book kept me up until I finished it and I was freaking out over it along the way on goodreads and twitter.

04. Angelfall by Susan Ee – Susan Ee really knows how to keep the pace going and going in her writing. So addicting!

05. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer – Yup, yup, this list would not be complete without this book. I have such vivid memories of my experience reading it: freshman year of college in my dorm, class early the next morning, running to my laptop around 4AM to order New Moon, missing class the next day…YEAH.

06. Harry Potter by JK Rowling – I read through the first four books when I was in the sixth grade and experienced the midnight releases from Order of the Phoenix onwards. Guess who stayed up all night reading them? That would be me! My all nighters started early…

07. Insignia by SJ Kincaid – My review for this one should be up soon, but I had so much fun reading this book. It.is.awesome.

08. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – I had only read one other John Green book and it hadn’t quite lived up to my expectations. I randomly picked up this one and fell in love. And sobbed. And was destroyed. But I loved every second of it!

09. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand – Unearthly remains one of the best surprises for me. Despite being 400+ pages, it was not enough!

10. So many other books that I could list here: Vampire Academy books, the Fever series, most of my favorite chick lit reads… I will reserve this spot for what’s to come!

Book Review: Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
Release Date: January 17, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 403
Source: Received ARC from publisher | Purchased copy
Rating: ★★★★★ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning. – Goodreads

Review:
Gutted.

That’s how I felt when I turned the last page of Hallowed. I was struck by how personal the book came across; it had a certain depth I don’t often encounter in most of my YA reads — especially not those with paranormal elements. And yet Cynthia Hand touched on love, friendship, loss, and difficult decisions in a very tangible way.

Love – A few pages into the book and I found myself smiling like an idiot. If you’re at all familiar with Tucker Avery that’s understandable, right? He is my favorite forever and I was so elated to see his return on page. Their relationship remains genuine and sweet and I appreciated the natural progression of it. They do hit some road bumps in this book, and there are some shifts that occur that made me sad, but it’s all a part of growing up. Though they both matured, together and individually, they still have ways to go. Lucky for us, Hand has an excellent foundation setup for them and I’m looking forward to seeing their evolution.

Friendship – Guys, Christian is the loveliest! I’ve had a soft spot for him since the first book, but this one just made me adore him all that more. He knows what Clara is going through and, whether he has feelings for her or not, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s someone she can fully rely on. Hand did an amazing job in showing their deepening friendship, how Christian brings out some of the best in Clara when she needs it, and making it all feel real. Yes, some love triangle aspects are part of the book, but Hand keeps it all from being contrived by making the reader truly feel and understand the emotion and conflict that Clara experiences.

Loss – This book made me cry! The book carries a heavy feeling of sorrow throughout and there were multiple times when my heart ached so much. I felt overwhelmed and drained and yet Hand also managed to show the strength that one displays in these situations. I wish I could mention certain things, but they would be spoiling the story, so I’ll just say that Clara’s loss, while definitely sad, included so much love. It was heartbreaking, but also beautiful.

Despite the obvious supernatural element — which is also handled very well — the real highlight of Hand’s writing is how she tackles human emotion. The highs, the lows, and everything in between rings true and allows us, the readers, to form a personal connection with her characters. I can’t wait to reunite with them in book three.


Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2011


Event hosted by A Life Bound by Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Fiktshun, and Two Chicks On Books

Oh lord, for some bizarre reason, I thought I wouldn’t even have ten fictional boyfriends to list and then…they just kept piling up. Thanks to the amazing authors who wrote these wonderful gentlemen for me to gush over.

[Read more...]

Top 10 Books I Read in 2011


Event hosted by A Life Bound by Books, Confessions of a Bookaholic, Fiktshun, and Two Chicks On Books

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! It’s time to start recapping my favorites of this year and look forward to what’s in store in 2012. Today’s post is for my top ten favorite reads. It seemed impossible to do, but I finally narrowed it down:


The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater(Review) – The biggest and best surprise of the year for me. This book is quietly stunning and even now, weeks after I read it, it still has a pull on me. A favorite for all time and that last line? Perfection.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor(Review) – This is a fantastically layered book that has some familiar elements found in other novels but Laini Taylor offers a new edge. The world is so imaginative, enthralling, and, as I’ve mentioned them before, those “Hello”s are a killer. Swoon!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins(Review) – This was only my most anticipated book of the year, so… high expectations, right? No need to fear, Stephanie Perkins delivered with another lovely story with the right amount of sweetness, yearning, and everything wonderful.

Divergent by Veronica Roth(Review) – So.much.fierceness! While this is definitely action packed and thrilling, Veronica Roth matched that with equally compelling characters. In addition to that, the romance offers a slow burn based on mutual respect.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson(Review) – I fangirled over this book after I read it and I’m happy to do it again: AMAZING READ, OMG. Elisa’s character arc was incredible and I could gush all day about the unexpected — but awesome — places Rae Carson took the story.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick(Review) – I sped through this book as if it were water and I was dying of thirst. I could not read it fast enough and yet I dreaded every page turn because things were so C-R-A-Z-Y. This was definitely the most intense read for me this year and it was so good.

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee(Review) – Not only was the mystery fun to unravel, but Mary and James are great leads and their chemistry is some of the best everrrrrrr. Seriously, it pretty much oozes off the page and, psst, it only gets better in book two (and I’m sure book three which I will get too soon!).

A Monster Calls by Patrick NessReview – I didn’t review this one because I wouldn’t be able to detail how affecting the book is. Beautiful and brutal.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand(Review) – Cynthia Hand more than made up for the horrible angel books I read prior to hers and I actually love this one more with each re-read. The mythology is interesting, her characters are fully fleshed out, and she still manages to keep an air of mystery surrounding everything. Also, Tucker!!!

Blood Red Road by Moira Young(Review) – Blood Red Road is awesome because it has: a lot of adventure, a unique writing style, a prickly and flawed main character, a handsome and charming guy, an awesome pet crow, a group of kickass females, and other excellent elements that I will not detail because you should read this ASAP!

I wouldn’t be me without cheating somehow, so here are some honorable mentions as well:

Angelfall by Susan Ee – I just finished this yesterday and I’m still in a state of CAPS LOCK over it. My review will be up soon, but you should just go ahead it buy it for your Kindle or Nook. 99 cents, people! Don’t miss out!

Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren(Review) – Exciting adventure, great romance, and a story full of heart. This book has everything!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman(Review) – Terrifying and haunting, this book has one of the most chilling scenes I’ve ever read.

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare(Review) – So much Jem goodness! Plus, this really was an excellent followup to the first book.

What are your favorite reads of the year? Do we share any of the same books? Let me know!