tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40431856421312881102024-02-03T00:29:10.494+02:00Riikka's little bookworldYA, fantasy, scifi, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, magic, werewolves, vampires...Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-20534019591426677912014-04-01T08:00:00.000+03:002014-04-01T08:00:03.118+03:00Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors In My Reading Journey<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWhl7M9aVp-hdfopl7vZJfsNEPlgXqtRIlr3K46Mv0a1d2mpGva1ipMwFZtg08Y6cnPfFRNmoNcCyv2cOtY9QYd-R7cMeQMRl39wHolUwhLkmqhk9g-3OORgt_cjGXUDQbk50UCBkHHxi/s320/toptentuesday2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWhl7M9aVp-hdfopl7vZJfsNEPlgXqtRIlr3K46Mv0a1d2mpGva1ipMwFZtg08Y6cnPfFRNmoNcCyv2cOtY9QYd-R7cMeQMRl39wHolUwhLkmqhk9g-3OORgt_cjGXUDQbk50UCBkHHxi/s320/toptentuesday2.jpg" /></a></strong></div>
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<strong>(TTT is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc4d22;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>)</strong></div>
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This is a hard one... But here's my list.</div>
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<strong>1. Carolyn Keene - <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/40642-nancy-drew" target="_blank">Nancy Drew series</a></strong></div>
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I used to love her Nancy Drew series. I don't remember if it was my first series I read, but it was one of those. I've read all books that were translated to finnish, so 105 books. I don't know why they stopped translating those, I think they were pretty popular.</div>
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<strong>2. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/99044.Mary_Higgins_Clark" target="_blank">Mary Higgins Clark</a></strong></div>
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My mother is her big fan and she has lot of her books. So naturally I read them too. Her books were the first "adult" books I read if I remember correctly. And I still like her books.</div>
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<strong>3. Deborah Spungen: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10055.And_I_Don_t_Want_to_Live_This_Life" target="_blank">And I Don't Want to Live This Life: A Mother's Story of Her Daughter's Murder</a></strong></div>
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Tragid story about Nancy Spungen and Sid Vicious, the basist of Sex Pistols. This was my first biography, I read it when I was about 12. And it's still one of my favorite books, I've read it multiple times. After this book, I've read many "similar" books; Nicky Cruz's Run, Baby, Run, Barry Mason's Fallen Angel etc. A lot of books about drugs and mental illness..</div>
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<dd><i>"You were my little baby girl,</i></dd><dd><i>And I shared all your fears.</i></dd><dd><i>Such joy to hold you in my arms</i></dd><dd><i>and kiss away your tears.</i></dd><dd><i>But now you're gone, there's only pain</i></dd><dd><i>and nothing I can do.</i></dd><dd><b>And I don't want to live this life,</b></dd><dd><i>If I can't live for you.</i></dd><dd><i>To my beautiful baby girl.</i></dd><dd><i>Our love will never die..."</i></dd><br />
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<strong>4. Nancy A. Collins: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331010.Sunglasses_After_Dark" target="_blank">Sunglasses After Dark</a></strong></div>
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My very first "real" vampire book. Pretty hardcore for 12 years old, but it was also my first that I bought with my "own" money.</div>
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<strong>5. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/45175-harry-potter" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a></strong></div>
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Propably my first fantasy series. I can't remember, but one of those at least. This was also the first series I read in english. I was so big fan, that I couldn't wait for the translated book, so my mother bought me some of those books in englisg right after they were published. So I own books 5-7 in english and in finnish. After Harry Potter, I started reading more books in english and nowadays I read mostly in english, I rarely wait for translated edition.</div>
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So this week my list is pretty short, but I couln't figure out any more. I've always loved reading as long as I remember and I've read so many books, that it's hard to pick those "gateway" books, that got me reading some genre of something. But those were the books or authors that are someway special to me.</div>
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Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-79656108837043757002014-03-31T17:53:00.000+03:002014-03-31T17:53:00.185+03:00Melissa Marr: Darkest Mercy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1278717537l/6368611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1278717537l/6368611.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<strong>Melissa Marr: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6368611-darkest-mercy" target="_blank">Darkest Mercy</a></strong> (Wicked Lovely, #5)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" />
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<strong><em>Send the messengers for the Faery Courts. This is the end.</em> </strong><br />
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<em>The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.<br /><br />Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.<br /><br />Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win...and some will lose everything.</em><br />
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I think that this was really lovely ending for this series. I started reading this ovet 5 years ago and I own the first two books that were translated to finnish. After those two, I had long break and then I read the other two books. Somehow I didn't read this last one then, but now I decided to finally read it. And it was so great that I read it in one day, only in few hours.<br />
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It's really difficult to describe my feelings after I finished this book. This series was so great that I would've love to read more, but still this was perfect ending. Every story got finihed and everybody got their (kinda) happy ending. Of course we also lost some characters, and every "happy ending" wasn't exactly traditional, but still I was really happy how everything turned out. Personally I would've liked more if Aislinn would've end up with different guy, but I can live with it.<br />
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There were so many thing in such a short book. I think that almost every character got the ending they deserved and everything were wrapped up pretty nicely. Even if there was so many things, everything was in balance and it didn't feel rushed. Sometimes that happens when author tries to put too much in a one book, but this was really nicely balanced. There were some characters whose story were left "open" and I would love to read more about them. I don't know if that's going to ever happen, but one can hope. I love this whole world so much, there's so much more we could uncover.<br />
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This whole series has been such treat to my imagination and the world is one of the most "beautiful" I've read. I don't know if beautiful is the right word, but you know what mean, right? Author's writing style lets us imagine a lot of things. I can almost see this world and fairies in it. There's that certain magical touch in it. When I was reading this series, there were so many times when I hoped that I could draw those characters and different kinds of fairies.<br />
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Thank you Melissa Marr for this lovely magical series. This series is one of my favorites and has been for many years.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-39168431750528055002014-03-31T10:50:00.001+03:002014-03-31T11:37:13.884+03:00Sophie Davis: Talented<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361997132l/13466202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1361997132l/13466202.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<strong>Sophie Davis: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13466202-talented?ac=1" target="_blank">Talented</a></strong> (Talented Saga, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText5306454956324716962"><em>When Talia Lyons was just a child, her parents were murdered before her eyes. Offered a choice between accepting their fate and exacting revenge, Talia trains to become one of the country’s deadliest assassins in order to kill the man responsible for their deaths: Ian Crane. Luckily, Talia was born with a gift- the ability to read and influence the minds of others. At sixteen, Talia is poised to graduate from the McDonough School for the Talented, where she learned to control her abilities. Now there is only one obstacle standing between her and the retribution she craves... Talia herself.<br /><br />Her greatest asset may also be her undoing; while a formidable weapon in the field, Talia’s talents prevent her from both shutting off the mental connection she shares with her questionable boyfriend and blocking out the thoughts of a beguiling fellow recruit. But Talia can’t afford to have the feelings and distractions of a normal teenage girl, when her life is far from normal.<br /><br />She must regain the single-minded determination that has brought her this far, or it may cost Talia her life when she finally faces Crane. And even after being molded in to a weapon of war, she’ll still have to find the strength it takes to pull the trigger.<br />
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If James Bond and Sookie Stackhouse had a love child with a yearning for vengeance, her story would be TALENTED: an adventure about powerful teenagers who aren’t afraid to embrace their fears and fight for what they believe in.</em><a class="actionLinkLite" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13466202-talented?from_search=true#"></a><br />
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First I must say, that I'm don't completely agree with that James Bond and Sookie Stackhouse stuff. In some way it is right, if you think only talents of those characters; spying and psychic stuff. Maybe I'm the only one who missunderstood, but I expected something bit different. And thats why I'm going to say my own opinion about that. I advice that at least don's compare plots or writingstyles. My opinion is that the Sookie Stackhouse-series isn't the most best quality there is, even if it's pretty entertaining, so comparing anything to it isn't necessarily a positive thing. But if you think only Sookie's mental talent, I quess they're pretty similar to Talia's. But I think that Talia is way smarter than Sookie.<br />
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The cover is yet again the first thing I noticed. Usually it it with me. I notice great covers and I ignore books with covers that I don't like. I've probably missed many great books because I didn't llike the cover.<br />
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The synopsis summaries the story pretty nicely, so I'm not going to say more about that. There were perfect combination of action and romance. I really enjoyd this book, and I'm going to read other books in this series too. I can't wait to see what's next in Talia's story. I'm pretty sure that there are lot of thing that aren't what they seem to be.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-57488105242544546152014-03-21T08:56:00.000+02:002014-03-21T08:56:00.102+02:00Kelley Armstrong: Exit Strategy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388281670l/11917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388281670l/11917.jpg" width="194" /></a></div>
<strong>Kelley Armstrong: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11917.Exit_Strategy" target="_blank">Exit Strategy</a></strong> (Nadia Stafford, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 4 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOSt6KNTPgr_2kkHce98ydrmZ4UffFgDEpHcrjx0kz9hygVvUkSzZMFPUZjGdNVLwMG3Ki5ZLyMCwxa_tYJKNPJL7py60u9FFem69aL0I3NVAis-69cE7GLXMWrWmOZyWj1tO76R26uU/s1600/4stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText5434927261524242882"><em>Regulars at Nadia's nature lodge don't ask what she does in the off-season. And that's a good thing. If she told them, she'd have to kill them. She's a hit woman for a Mafia family.<br /><br />Tough and self-sufficient, Nadia doesn't owe anyone any explanations. But that doesn't mean she always works alone. One of her contacts has recruited her in the hunt for a ruthlessly efficient serial killer cutting a swath of terror across the country. The assassin is far too skilled to be an amateur—and the precision of the killings is bringing the Feds much too close to the hit man community for comfort.<br /><br />To put an end to the murders, Nadia will have to turn herself from predator to prey as she employs every trick she knows to find the killer. Before the killer finds her…</em></span><br />
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I've read Armstrong's books before, so I knew what to expect. I knew that the writing would be great quality and the book didn't let me down. It was great. Lately I've been reading a lot ya, indie and fantasy books, so it was really nice to read something more mature for a while. It's nice to sometimes forget all text analyzing, teenagedrama, werevolves and vampires and just enjoy the book. This was a great opportunity to do just that. <br />
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Like I mentioned I knew that the quality of this book would be good. I loved to read smooth, wellthought storu and I could really notive the difference between this book and some others I've read lately. Everything seemed to fit together nicely and I didn't notice any mistakes or "odd" stuff. I could just enjoy without spotting the mistakes.<br />
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I'm not going to say anything more about the plot, synopsis say everything you need to know. This time I'm going to keep my review short and finish it with short summary. Great work, Kelley Armstrong once again. You didn't let me down and it's always a pleasure to read your books. Your characters are wellthought ja your writing is flawless and smooth. They're guaranteed quality which you can read several times without boring. Thank you. I'm going to continue reading Nadia's adventure and I have next book already waiting for me.<br />
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(tbr-goal 23/200)Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-91513098055156617492014-03-20T10:11:00.002+02:002014-03-20T10:12:01.741+02:00A. B. Whelan: Fields of Elysium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1352216601l/16133112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1352216601l/16133112.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<strong>A. B. Whelan: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16133112-fields-of-elysium" target="_blank">Fields of Elysium</a></strong> (Fields of Elysium, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 2 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5JXfHYqTSeRouLfKoIEEmlp128WZsktY9ito8wm1mkMYjRBJfHVJc_6nALlIA0nLoH9fsMYgIFXrH0warDgLV-RgRHvPV2_7d33kz8JOXyxAPKWxs4y6mMsRE5VGm0AdCQuRc1MUvhY/s1600/2stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText6367885578835392942"><em>How can love mend a heart full of hate?<br /><br />Small town girl, Molly Bennett, moves to Los Angeles where she becomes an outsider while attending Beverly Hills High School. It seems life cannot be any more dreadful. Then one day after school, something magical happens. On a secluded hike in the Hollywood Hills, Molly chases her disobedient mutt and only friend into a hidden cavern. She stumbles upon a strange glimmering gateway that transports her to Arkana, a planet that is the cradle of an advanced human race. There, teenagers navigate amazing flying vehicles, compete in perilous games for glory, and possess supernatural powers. While Molly tries to wrap her mind around this unbelievable discovery, she meets the alluring and mysterious Victor Sorren. He is a Sentinel Apprentice, whose hatred toward people from Earth is beyond understanding. Yet every time Victor unpredictably saves Molly's life, his heart draws closer to hers, no matter how much he tries to fight against it. It further complicates things that their growing friendship is strictly forbidden. Earth people are prohibited in Arkana, yet Molly continues to cross through the portal to Arkana to see Victor. Torn between their double lives, they go down a dangerous path, from where there is no return and multiple endings.</em><br />
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I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</span><br />
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The book's idea and story seemed really interesting and intriguing at first. And I kinda liked the story, but not the writing style. Many times I thought that the characters didn't seem "real", but more like stereotypicals. Chris is typical popular guy flirting with everybody and bragging about girls he's been with. Camilla is also very typical popular girl. It's all about repution and the looks with her. She's pretty cold and mean, but she also secretly hopes that she could someday just relax and wear sweatpants. And the mc Molly... Lonely guitar playing songwriter new girl. Her father is really overprotective and controlling. Molly wants to have an adventure and she falls in love with "bad boys" she feels sorry for. She wants to "rescue" them and she believes she can change them and teach them how to love etc. Almost every character was like picked from the catalog; here's the popular boy, popular girl, lonely new girl, orphan bad boy, overprotective father, absent father.... You get what I mean.<br />
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The plot seemed really interesting at first, but the more I read, the more I was confused and uncertain what the actual plot really was. I didn't know what the whole point was and what was the idea and purpose behind the story. Molly finds another world, meets people these and falls in love with the boy who's actually mean to her. What then? Where is the mystery? Or some crime to solve or bad guy to beat or some was between worlds? Who is the villain? There doesn't seem to be any ulterior motive or anything. So I did think that the book was fairly entertaining, if you don't mind that the character are really shallow and stereotypical. But there didn't seem to be any purpose or destination in this story. Sometimes I even had to check that I didn't accidentaly skip over pages, things seemed to jump from scene to other sometimes so randomly. And even when english isn't my first language, even I noticed some funny sentences and stuff. I don't usually notice them, grammar isn't my specialty, but now they bothered even me.<br />
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And the more I read, the more I noticed thing that bothered me. I couldn't not to notice how shallow and "false" the character were. I got angrier and angier with every page I read and even considered if I should left this one unfinished. But there were only about 50 pages left, so I decided to finish it. But the ending made me even angrier, it was so unbelievably stupid. First everything is great almost syrupy, then everything goes to hell and then there's magically some "supernatural powers" that save the situation and everything is great again. And moment later everything is going wrong again. And like magic, everything is fine again. And all this in about 20 pages. WTF?<br />
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So the result in my opinion is that promising book got lousier and lousier with every page and the ending was just awful. I read the synopsis for next book and it seems interesting, but I'm thinking that I'm gonna pass. I was so disappointed in this book, that I doubt that the next one will be any better. Sorry. It was difficult to decide how many start to give this book, 'cos the beginning was better than the ending. I decided that 2 stars would be appropriate. This book has been compared to Twilight and I can almost see why. There are some similarities, but I actually loved Twilight. This was bad. Well, I was a lot younger when I read Twilight and maybe I've developed as a reader, but I'm still going to defend Twilight. It was great and this was not. Sorry.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-71570905580017630362014-03-16T18:05:00.001+02:002014-03-16T18:06:42.324+02:00Sarah Raughley: Feather Bound<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1380828008l/17829175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1380828008l/17829175.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText13087686189357204892"><b>Sarah Raughley: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17829175-feather-bound" target="_blank">Feather Bound </a></b></span><br />
<img alt=" 3 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLqwGtpmZe52_zMEskDkbMiw_OIz8olMH-8s3kBoid7m1yAmnVXvSGZkWHv3z43maEemrjV-uRYBnFYSnGINHvy87qcmc4mRKgcQ8Mi-R4JaI57b3S3IkBd1FDtew3796ERYJJO27nH8/s1600/3stars.png" />
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<i><span id="freeText13087686189357204892">When Deanna's missing
friend Hyde turns up at his father's funeral to claim his corporate
empire and inheritance, she is swept into his glittering world of
paparazzi and wealth.<br /><br />But re-kindling her friendship and the
dizzying new emotions along for the ride are the least of her concerns.
Because Deanna has a secret – and somebody knows. Someone who is out to
get Hyde. And if she doesn't play along, and help the enemy destroy
him…she will be sold to the highest bidder in the black market for human
swans.<br /><br />Now Deanna is struggling to break free from the gilded cage that would trap her forever…<br /><br />Feather Bound is a dark debut reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez's <em>A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings</em>, and the twisted truth behind the fairy tale of Cinderella.</span></i><br />
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<span id="freeText13087686189357204892">I received this book from NetGalley in exhange for an honest review.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13087686189357204892">The idea about human swans seems pretty interesting and I like the idea behind this book. But as whole, this book is not as good as I expected. It's not bad, it was nice to read, but I don't think this book was particulary memorable. I can't really pinpoint it, but something was missing. Maybe I was missing something "magical". I mean that ok, there are human swans, but what can they do? Can they fly? No. Can they maybe sing really good? No. Is there anything magical about them? No. They just are. And if you steal their feathers, they're bound to you.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13087686189357204892">There are some pieces that reminded me of <i>Swan Lake</i> and <i>The Wild Swans</i>. And I believe that the author has got at least some inspiration from them. And like the synopsis says, there are little bit of Cinderella in a mix. But I really wanted to know more about those human swans. Somekind of backstory or explanation.</span><br />
<span id="freeText13087686189357204892"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText13087686189357204892">There are also a lot of cliches. Poor girl, rich guy, kidnapping, dead mom, alcoholic dad, lazy sister etc.Just I think that if you don't overanalyze this book you can really enjoy it. It was pretty average, but not every book can be great. It was nice Sunday reading book.</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-85976923398336895552014-03-16T17:25:00.001+02:002014-03-16T17:25:58.319+02:00Tracy E. Banghart: Shattered Veil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1390691875l/19194602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1390691875l/19194602.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<span id="freeText11187447007085278210"><b>Tracy E. Banghart: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19194602-shattered-veil" target="_blank">Shattered Veil </a></b>(The Diatous Wars, #1)</span><br />
<img alt=" 4 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOSt6KNTPgr_2kkHce98ydrmZ4UffFgDEpHcrjx0kz9hygVvUkSzZMFPUZjGdNVLwMG3Ki5ZLyMCwxa_tYJKNPJL7py60u9FFem69aL0I3NVAis-69cE7GLXMWrWmOZyWj1tO76R26uU/s1600/4stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText11187447007085278210"><br /></span>
<i><span id="freeText11187447007085278210">When everything that defines you is stripped away, who do you become?<br /><br />For
Aris, a talented wingjet pilot, war means sacrificing everything: her
home, her name, her face—and the one promise she swore she’d never
break.<br /><br />In the small village of Lux, everyone flies wingjets, but
nobody flies them like Aris Haan. When she’s not dancing through the
skies, she’s spending every minute with Calix, whom she’s loved since
childhood. They plan to Promise, but instead he is sent to defend their
dominion against a bloody invasion. Determined not to lose him, Aris
follows, joining an underground network of women inside the male-only
military. Using secret technology that allows her to pass as a man, she
becomes “Aristos”, a Flyer in a search-and-rescue unit. <br /><br />As Aris
grows stronger on the battlefield and more comfortable in her guise as
Aristos, her personal mission becomes less and less clear. When she and
her enigmatic commander, Major Vidar, uncover an astonishing conspiracy
that could destroy everything, she must make a choice that will
determine not only the fate of her heart, but the future of her
dominion.</span></i><br />
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<span id="freeText11187447007085278210">~~~~~~</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText11187447007085278210">I received this book from NetGalley in exhange for an honest review.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText11187447007085278210">My first impressions wasn't very good and my expections wasnät very high. But the story got way better really fast when got "in" it. The setting is pretty typical dystopian style. Story happens in a world where people's occupations gets determined by their school tests etc. You can be Military, Commerce etc... And there's war. So pretty typical...</span><br />
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Aris as a character was at first pretty naivi and blue-eyed and kinda stupid even. In a way she's really brave, but I think it's stupid when someone's whole life depends on one person. And Calix is Aris' whole world. Aris is ready to do practically anything to be with him. She's even willing to cut her hair, pretend to male and join to army just to be near him. But as the story progress Aris grows as a person. Her naivity disappears really fast in a middle of a war. Just the training to be a soldier is hard, but imagine when she really has to go to a battlefield in a mission, just to notice that the family she's supposed to rescue, is slaughtered just moments before the rescueparty comes. Stupid naivi Aris becomes hardcore, strong and brave Aristos.<br />
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As whole, the book was really great and I really enjoyd it. I'm looking forward to read the next book and what's more to come.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-21036901072231436852014-03-16T16:31:00.002+02:002014-03-16T16:31:34.369+02:00Ruth Warburton: Witch Finder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370347150l/18039069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370347150l/18039069.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<b>Ruth Warburton: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18039069-witch-finder" target="_blank">Witch Finder</a></b> (Witch Finder, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" />
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<i><span id="freeText4354085396201722856">London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.<br /><br />Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.</span></i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.<br />
<br />
At first, I have to admit that magic and history aren't my favorite genres. Usually I read mostly urban fantasy and castles, knights, dragons, princesses, wizards etc aren't not my thing. We'll there aren't dragons in this one either, but you get what I mean, right? I like more future or modern day fiction. But I made an exception with this one, because the cover is so amazing. It's really beautiful and there's just something about it.. I have one bad habit and it's judging book by it's cover. This time is was worth it. The cover is amazing and the story was just as amazing.<br />
<br />
At first I was a little sceptical and the beginning wasn't really convincing. Maybe that's just my prejudices about history and magic. So I had maybe a little negative expections. But I was SO wrong. The writing is smooth and the characters deep. The story is interesting and compelling and the whole book was really positive surprise. It gave me a pretty good picture about 19th century London and what life was at that time. And I'm really glad that I was born 100 years later.<br />
<br />
The ending was exciting and this part of the story was erapped up pretty nicely. There wasn't that great big cliffhanger, but there were still some loose ends that were left to next book. This book lessened little bit my prejudises toweards magic and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to read more Warburton's books.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-20321965276390219822014-03-06T08:26:00.001+02:002014-03-06T10:21:19.709+02:00Kresley Cole: Poison Princess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356422925l/13450339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356422925l/13450339.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<strong>Kresley Cole: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13450339-poison-princess" target="_blank">Poison Princess</a></strong> (Arcana Chronicles, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText13218593121044401464"><em><strong>She could save the world—or destroy it.</strong><br /><br />Sixteen-year-old Evangeline "Evie" Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.<br /><br /><strong>But she can't do either alone.</strong><br /><br />With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can't totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?<br /><br /><strong>Who can Evie trust?</strong><br /><br />As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side.</em></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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What's common between the Tarot cards, zombies and the end of the world? One of these doesn't seem to belong, but Kresley Cole has created just such an incredibly unique story. Wow. What else can I say? The book was just amazing, even though most of the time I was totally baffled. The story is told in such way that you realize what's going on just almost at the end. I just had to read and read in order to know more one piece at a time. This was another one of those books that messed with my sleep, because I just could not put the book out of my hands.<br />
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Tarot cards have always been fascinating and everything about mysticism has always fascinated me. Now I regret that I don't have my own Tarot deck, I would have really liked to see those cards myself and imagine character behind them. This book was amazing start to this series. The next book is sure to be something at least as great, maybe even better (I hope). Impatient reader might get a little frustrated with this book, because the plot and meaning behind everything is revealed in very small pieces and I have to admit that I was really baffled a lot. But after this book, my expections are really high, because I believe that the next book will be really exciting and full of action now that the plot and idea behind everything is finally revealed.<br />
<span title="Tämä oli taas yksi niistä kirjoista, joiden takia yöuneni jäivät melko vähäisiksi, koska en vain pystynyt laskemaan kirjaa käsistäni.
"><br />I don't know what else to say about this book. It was awesome, gorgeous and one of a kind. Mysticism, superpowers and the end of the world is geared up together into a seamless story, which, at least in my opinion, was something completely unique. The next book is already in my shelf and I can't wait to begin reading it.<br />
<br />
(tbr goal 16/200)</span><br />Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-26052994425483663612014-03-05T20:14:00.003+02:002014-03-05T20:14:33.749+02:00Susanne Winnacker: Impostor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370018807l/16135109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1370018807l/16135109.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<b>Susanne Winnacker: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16135109-impostor" target="_blank">Impostor</a></b> (Variants, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" /><br />
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<span id="freeText4276856772496058651"><i><b>Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late? </b><br /><br />Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.<br /><br />Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.</i></span><br />
<span id="freeText4276856772496058651"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.<br />
<br />
Impostor wasn't my first Susanne Winnacker's book that I've read, I've read The Orher Life too. So I had certain expections about this book based on The Other Life. My expections were met and this was really great book.<br />
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The main character is Tessa, a Variant, who can absorb other people's DNA and mimic their appearance. There are all kinds of Variant, one can turn invincible, one can reads minds and someone is superstrong. There all kinds of people with different gifts. Their abilities are inheritable, but useally they skip one generation. Tessa lives in FEA's (secret branch of the FBI) training facility with other Variants. Tessa's childhood was pretty lousy, her mother thought that Tessa was a freak, especially when Tessa couldn't control her ability as a child.<br />
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Tessa gets a chance to go on a real mission to catch a serial murderer in small town in Oregon. Tessa's job is to impersonate Madison, one of the victims. Being a impostor terrifies Tessa, but she also loves playing the role of a normal girl in a normal family. But Tessa needs to remember that her job is to kind the murderer before it's too late. And they have no clue who the murderer is. There are multiple suspects. Is it the jealous ex-boyfriend? Or maybe Madison's brother who seems to be hiding something? Or is possible that it could be the english teacher who was maybe more than just a teacher to Madison? Tessa's job is to look for clues and to find out who had the motive to kill Madison and others.<br />
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The idea about "superhero teenager" is nothing new, and the first that came to my mind was X-Men. And there are some similarities. Not that much, but the basic idea is similar. But the story is well written and I loved the characters. They're deep and well thought. There were those small details about their past and personality that made them whole. And there were these little things that were left pretty vague, like Tessa's family, and maybe we'll learn more about then in next books. Tessa's father and brother were mentioned, but that was it. Nothing else was told, so I'm pretty sure that we'll get back to that in some point. I hope. I'm pretty curious about them and I have my own theories (as usual).<br />
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The story progressed nicely and there were balance. Action, romance, mystery, thriller.. They were all there and I believe that there were something for everyone. Some questions were left without answer, so there's something to look forward to in next books.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-23889048962521758402014-03-04T09:39:00.002+02:002014-03-04T09:40:47.919+02:00Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read<strong></strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWhl7M9aVp-hdfopl7vZJfsNEPlgXqtRIlr3K46Mv0a1d2mpGva1ipMwFZtg08Y6cnPfFRNmoNcCyv2cOtY9QYd-R7cMeQMRl39wHolUwhLkmqhk9g-3OORgt_cjGXUDQbk50UCBkHHxi/s320/toptentuesday2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWhl7M9aVp-hdfopl7vZJfsNEPlgXqtRIlr3K46Mv0a1d2mpGva1ipMwFZtg08Y6cnPfFRNmoNcCyv2cOtY9QYd-R7cMeQMRl39wHolUwhLkmqhk9g-3OORgt_cjGXUDQbk50UCBkHHxi/s320/toptentuesday2.jpg" /></a></strong></div>
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<strong>(TTT is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc4d22;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>)</strong></div>
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</strong><br />
So.. Here's my list:<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>J. R. R. Tolkien </strong>(The Lords of the Rings...)<br />
<br />
<strong>C.S. Lewis </strong>(Narnia...)<br />
<br />
<strong>Philip Pullman </strong>(The Golden Compass...)<br />
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<strong>Terry Pratchett</strong> (Discworld-series...)<br />
<br />
<strong>Leo Tolstoi</strong> (Anna Karenina, War and Peace...)<br />
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<strong>John Irving</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Charles Dickens</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Stieg Larsson</strong> (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo...)<br />
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<strong>Nicholas Sparks</strong> (The Notebook...)<br />
<br />
<strong>Jane Austen</strong><br />
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Yeah.. Shame on me. I should really read at least some of these...Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-49484542862453085962014-03-03T20:29:00.000+02:002014-03-03T20:29:14.611+02:00Jan Christensen: Blackout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1379089474l/18471294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1379089474l/18471294.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<b>Jan Christensen: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18471294-blackout?ac=1" target="_blank">Blackout</a></b><br />
<img alt=" 4 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOSt6KNTPgr_2kkHce98ydrmZ4UffFgDEpHcrjx0kz9hygVvUkSzZMFPUZjGdNVLwMG3Ki5ZLyMCwxa_tYJKNPJL7py60u9FFem69aL0I3NVAis-69cE7GLXMWrWmOZyWj1tO76R26uU/s1600/4stars.png" /><br />
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<i><span id="freeText3819042433538128830">Who is she? Battered and
bruised, she first becomes aware of her total loss of memory while
walking on a dark, lonely road. Before she arrives in an unfamiliar town
called Valleyview, she makes up a name-Alice Strong--and claims she's
eighteen. Her injuries heal and she accepts a job at the local nursing
home. During her first day of work, a patient passes away, posed as if
ready for burial. Alice can't understand why the death of an old woman
she doesn't know hits her so hard. When a second resident dies in the
same position, the director of nurses, Betty Cranston, is positive
residents are being murdered. She fears for her paralyzed mother. And
she suspects Alice. Alice must remember her past to help prove her
innocence. When she remembers this wasn't her first blackout, dread
holds her back because what she does recall might all disappear a third
time. Can she piece her puzzle together before the killer strikes again?
Should she even try?</span></i><br />
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<br />
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.<br />
<br />
This book wasn't my usual genre. Normally I read mostly fantasy, but it's good to read something different once in a while and still was great chance to do just that. I liked the book and I'm goingto give it 4 stars. I was thinking something between 3 and 4 stars, but in the end I decided that 4 stars was closer.<br />
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The summary tells pretty good what this book is about, so I'm not going to tell anything more about it, so I don't spoil too much or repeat things. As I said before, this was not my usual genre, but when I was younger I used to read lot of books like this one. It was nice to read murdermystery that wasn't so gory or violent. Sometimes there were times when I was bit confused when POV changed and time changed, but recovered quickly and I was back on track. It was also nice that the real villain was relealed just in the end, it didn't guess it at all.<br />
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This was a bit minireview, but I really don't know what else to write. I liked it and that's it. :) Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-65628324133393793732014-03-02T16:12:00.001+02:002014-03-02T16:15:07.943+02:00Julie Milillo: Immortal Sin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356199451l/17074788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1356199451l/17074788.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<b><span id="freeText2183983745664280893">Julie Milillo: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17074788-immortal-sin" target="_blank">Immortal Sin</a> </span></b><span id="freeText2183983745664280893">(Immortal Sin, #1)</span><br />
<img alt=" Did not finish " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihtOPezNRhCvLoUf_bBsaC57sIoEdEK7P1o4FmzBmmpDKnOHSz8OS8kyxYw7pMEIq4g-7ZjwWGJZ082IkhhefvwXnrj9hFdF6yJfteHLDgSDfNfw3_Rwc8oAw-dghAu6TCgT1h9a2R_Eo/s1600/0stars.png" />
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<i><span id="freeText2183983745664280893">One Girl.<br />Two Worlds.<br />Three Questions.<br /><br />What lies beneath the hidden secret?<br />Can love rise above the inevitable?<br />And most importantly, where will her fate lead her?<br /><br />Amanda
Chaste had lived what she considered an average life in New Jersey,
looked after and cared for by her grandmother. But when she accidentally
meets an enigmatic stranger from out of town, her world is drastically
thrown upside down. A hidden secret has been buried in the past and not
even Amanda can save herself from her own fate.<br />Conflicted and
tormented within her own flesh, discovering her true identity will prove
to be something that will change her life forever.</span></i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="freeText2183983745664280893">~~~~~~</span></div>
<br />
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText2183983745664280893">I'm sorry, I really tried to read this, but I just didn't like the book and couldn't finish it. I hang in there about half way throught, but I finally gave up bacause I was still not clear about what the plot in this book was.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText2183983745664280893">The summary of the book is rather vague and it didn't tell very much. In fact, when I first started the book, I hardly know what I was getting into. The beginning of the book was rather vague too. I ungerstood that there was something about demons or stuff, but that was all. But on the other hand, thing moved pretty quickly, but it still took quite a while before I understood really what was going on. In the beginning there was some strange and mystical event, but it all seemed pretty obscure.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText2183983745664280893">Amanda's behavior was at least in the beginning a little bit strange. Maybe strange is not the right word for it, but that's what I'm going to use. Of cource it's possible that some people just have a very good intuiiton, but it still felt pretty odd that she twisted drunk driving, drowning and a gas leek into something strange, when I think it's really not. Maybe it is bit strange that many people die in a such short amount of time, but that's it. But they all seemed like accidents, so who would've guessed that there's something strange going on? Also Amanda's interest towards Mitch seemed a bit odd. She runs into Mitch one time in a party and he's rude. So what? Is rudeness only reason why Amanda thinks there's something strange about Mitch? And that's why she needs to get answers. To what exactly she needs answers? I'm sorry, but the whole thing seemed rather stupid and bit far fetched. Amanda seemd to drive into coclusions pretty fast. Od cource there is something strange about Mitch, but how on earth she could know that? It seems impossible to Amanda make those conclusions without any evidense. I really hoped that there would be something more. For me, events did not seem very plausible.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText2183983745664280893">I just could not help it, I did not like the book. In general, I'm not very picky reader, but now I just simply could not finish it. The whole plot seemed very vague and things progressed too fast. First I was completely clueless, then suddenly almost everything is explained. When I finally understood what was going on, I didnät get what plot was supposed to be. The idea behind the book seemed pretty interesting, but the story itself seemed really hastily written, like it wasn't really thought through. And there really didn't seem to be any larger point or mystery, or at least not anything that would interest me. There wasn't anything "more". Things happened, but the point was missing. I rarely leave books unfinished, but I just didnät see any reason to continue reading this. The last pages I read, I only went through quickly in hope that something interesting would happen.</span><br />
<span id="freeText2183983745664280893"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText2183983745664280893">I read the author's Goodreads profile where she mentioned some authors that inspired her. Jocelyn Davies, Alexandra Adornetto and Josephine Angelini were among them and it really showed in the book. I've actually read books from all those authors and I think that there was maybe bit too much influence. This book seemed forced and almost like there were pieces taken from other books and scraped together by force without much purpose. Writing a bad revies is never fun, but sadly I must admit that this book was complete waste of my time.</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-33325693397498434482014-03-01T13:44:00.000+02:002014-03-01T13:44:40.110+02:00Sarah Dalton: White Hart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385735546l/18760207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385735546l/18760207.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>
<b>Sarah Dalton: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18760207-white-hart" target="_blank">White Hart</a></b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18760207-white-hart" target="_blank"> </a>(White Hart, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" /><br />
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<i><span id="freeText16338309063364120525">Mae never asked to be craft-born. She never wanted that burden.<br /><br />The
realm needs magic again, and the the King of Aegunlund has been waiting
for the first craft-born girl to marry his son, Prince Casimir.<br /><br />In
Mae's town of Halts-Walden, the ambitious miller claims his daughter
Ellen is craft-born. Mae knows this is a load of hogwash, but she's glad
Ellen will have the unfortunate pleasure of becoming queen instead of
her. All she has to do is sit back and wait until Casimir and Ellen are
married, then she will finally be free of the threat of her fate. But on
that day an event so shocking and terrible occurs that Mae finds
herself entering the neighbouring cursed forest on a quest she never
thought she'd have to follow. <br /><br />Join Mae as she rides her white
stag through the Waerg Woods with a pampered prince at her heels. She's
out for revenge and nothing, no one, will get in her way.</span></i><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">~~~~~~</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">No! No! No! Why did it end? Why? This is absolute horrible. Horrible. What am I going to do now? I was just turning the page and it wasn't there. This is torture. How is it possible that it ended like that? I can't believe it. I feel like shouting and screaming and I want to throw my e-reader to the wall. Really. I want MORE!! </span><br />
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">So if you didn't yet get it, I LOVED the book. This was definitely one of the best books for a while. I liked the cover, it's wonfully simple and timeless. It remimded me a little of Maggie Stiefvater's Mercy Falls series ans their covers. The stories are not similar in any way, but covers are similar and I love them both. So, the cover was the first thing that got my attention. The next thing was book's summary. The craf-born idea seemed really interesting, even if the magic is not always my favorite genre. But I had really psotive expectations about this book even before I started reading and the book didn't betray those expectations. It was even better if possible.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">As the summary tells us, Mae is craft-born, the only girl born in this generation with magic. And because she is craft-born, she should marry the prince, but she doesn't want to, so she hides her powers. Mae doesn't want to be a princess and she certainly doesn't want marry a guy who she doesn't know, just because those powers. However, in Mae's village these is a girl Ellen, who suddenly claims to be the craft-born. Mae of cousce knows that this is bullshit, but she is satisfied that she doesn't have to marry the prince. The prince comes to claim Ellen and something terrible happens. Ellen is kidnapped and Mae's father is killed at the same time. Mae decides to go after the crooks to avenge his fathet death as well as to retrieve Ellen. Stubborn prince decides to come with Mae and they leave to a nearby hautend woods. Mae and prince Casimir will face horrible mystical horrors is forest and Mae learns a lot of herself and what being the craft-born means. Perhaps that obligation involves more than just marrying the prince, in which Mae soon begins to fall in love with during their journey. But will Mae reveal het feeling or that she is the real craft-born instead Ellen?</span><br />
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">The book is incrediblt well written and I really liked the characters. Mae is at first perhaps a little selfish, even thought she is brave and independent person. But as the story progress she learns a lot of herself and she grows as a person, realizing that perhaps revenge isn't the only option and perhapt there really is meaning in her powers. Prince Casimir seemed at first like a typical snooty prince, but it soon become clear that this is not the case, but the prince is really a great person and he could someday be a great king. On the way we meet other characters as well, which affect the story, but not any more about them here.</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText16338309063364120525">Since I'm extremely bad at writing reviews, I don't know how to better analyze this book, but I can sum up my feelings in one sentence. There wasn't anything in this book that I didn't love. There is romance and action, lies and honesty, selfish people and selfless people. And the best (or maybe the worst) was the amazing cliffhanger, which ensures that I really look forward to the next book. I just simply cannot wait for what happens next. And while I'm waiting for the next book, I'm definitely going to check out rest of Sarah Dalton's production.</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-38938997153617742472014-02-28T13:06:00.000+02:002014-02-28T13:08:26.484+02:00Elizabeth Norris: Unraveling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1337474732l/12157365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1337474732l/12157365.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<strong>Elizabeth Norris: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12157365-unraveling" target="_blank">Unraveling</a></strong> (Unraveling, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 4 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOSt6KNTPgr_2kkHce98ydrmZ4UffFgDEpHcrjx0kz9hygVvUkSzZMFPUZjGdNVLwMG3Ki5ZLyMCwxa_tYJKNPJL7py60u9FFem69aL0I3NVAis-69cE7GLXMWrWmOZyWj1tO76R26uU/s1600/4stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText13974711126609196829"><em>Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.<br /><br />And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.</em></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Apparently this month is full of surprises. No one is as dumb as I thought they were.”</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Does anyone remember the TV series Roswell from somewhere around 1999? That series was one of my favorites at the time and my opinion is that it still is one the best series ever. This book, and escpecially the beginning of the book reminded me a lot of Roswell. Janelle and Ben reminded me of Liz and Max and the beginning where Ben saved Janelle's life was a bit similar like when in Roswell's pilot episode Max healed Liz's gunshot wound. There are so many similar elements, that I could almost swear that the author was either consciously or unconsciously influenced by that TV series. This could also be my own imagination, but the feeling is really, really strong.<br />
<br />
I wasn't very excited about this book when I started reading, but this book's been in my tbr-list for a long time, and my goal this year is to shorten that list and read as many books as possible from that list. I was between 3 and 4 start a long time and my real opinion would probably be 3.5, but I'm gonna round it up, so 4 stars. The was not bad, but it wasn't great either. It was well written, but it reminded of lot of Roswell. Bit too much maybe. I loved that series, but this seemed a little like copying it. And there was something missing. For some reason, something just didn't "click".<br />
<br />
The ending was absolutely heartbreaking, but I kinda liked it. On the other hand, the story was complete, but there is still possibility of next book. And I know there is another book. I'm going to read it, even though this book did not make it to my favorites, 'cos it sounds more promising than this one, at least based on summary it seems really interesting. But my conclusion about this book is that it was nice, and probably many will really like it, but for me something was missing. It wasnät complete waste of my time, but I could've live with myself even if I hadn't read this at all. Sometimes I really regret when I hadn't read some book before, but this time I didn't feel like I'd missed anything important.<br />
<br />
(tbr-list 14/200)<span title="Asia voi myös olla omaa kuvitelmaani, mutta tunne on todella, todella vahva.
"><br />
</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-85920663019258165102014-02-24T21:03:00.000+02:002014-02-24T21:03:00.037+02:00Abigail Gibbs: Dinner with a Vampire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347665414l/15998621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347665414l/15998621.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<strong>Abigail Gibbs: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15998621-dinner-with-a-vampire" target="_blank">Dinner with a Vampire</a></strong> (The Dark Heroine, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 4 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOSt6KNTPgr_2kkHce98ydrmZ4UffFgDEpHcrjx0kz9hygVvUkSzZMFPUZjGdNVLwMG3Ki5ZLyMCwxa_tYJKNPJL7py60u9FFem69aL0I3NVAis-69cE7GLXMWrWmOZyWj1tO76R26uU/s1600/4stars.png" />
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<br />
<em>One moment can change your life forever...</em><br />
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<em>For Violet Lee, a chance encounter on a darkened street draws her into a world beyond her wildest imaginings, a timeless place of vast elegance and immeasurable wealth – of beautiful mansions and lavish parties – where a decadent group of friends live for pleasure alone. A place from which there is no escape...no matter how hard Violet tries.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Yet all the riches in the world can’t mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dangerous Kaspar Varn.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Violet and Kaspar surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds – but it’s a passion that comes at a price...</em><br />
<br />
<em></em><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>“Kidnapped by a vampire, death by a squid. How tragic.” </em></blockquote>
<br />
First, I must say that the book was not anything what I expected. It was much better. I've run across this book in bookstores several times in the last six months, but I wasn't very interested. It's been even in my reader for a while before I decided to finally read it. And there are couple big factors why I was "avoiding" this book; the title and the cover of this book. Personally, I'm a reader who ofter chooses book by it's cover and title. If the title and the cover aren't nice, I often don't necessarily even read the book synopsis. And I'm sure that there are many great books, that I've missed because of it. But since I use the library a lot and there's so much choise, I need some way to limit my options... So.. I think the name of this book is stupid and the cover isn't particulary interesting either. So, I would say that my expectations were not very high.<br />
<br />
I am pleased to say that I was positively surprised. The book was much better than I imagined. I don't actually agree with the book slogan "The sexiest romance you'll read this year..", but yes, I liked the book very much and yes, there were sexiness. (But I've read a lot sexier romance this year)<br />
<br />
I especially likes the characters in this book. Violet is not a damsel in distress (even if she kinda is), but she's strong and stubborn and spunky. She is attracted to Kaspar from the fisrt moment, but is she willing to engage in her desires? No. What about when Kasper shows some interest? Still no. Attraction and sexual tention is there, but it takes a while before Violet finally surrenders. And I think it's great. Why? Because I don't believe in love at first sight. I have been really annoyed in many, many books by the fact that the couple meets, they fall in love and week later they're married or something. WTF? It does not happen in real life. Or at leats it's really really rare. Books do not need, of course, to be realistic, but I think those "love at first sight" stuff are ofter pretty annoying.<br />
<br />
And what about Kaspar? I loved him immediately, of course, because I'm always with the bad guys. But who doesn't love them? He is honest about who he is, and he doesn't apologise. And he doesn't chase Violet like a puppy. Of course, there's always some kind of redemption or something like that, but again, it does not happen over night or just like that. Karpar really is honest about himself.<br />
<br />
The whole Dark Heroine thing seemed a bit vague at first, but it was revealed little by little towards the end and conveniently in small pieces so that the interest towards the book remained. You really needed to read a little bit more if you wanted to know I little bit more. Maybe it's 'cos author published this originally online one chapter at a time, so she wanted to keep readers interested. I'm still not fully decided what I think about this series, but this opening book was certainly a great start, and I really hope that the quality is as good in upcoming books too. I'm definally adding the next in my tbr-list too and I'm waiting excitedly what the future holds for this series. I think that there is major potential in this one.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;" title="Lisään ehdottomasti seuraavankin kirjan tbr-listalleni ja jään mielenkiinnossa odottamaan, mitä sarjan tulevaisuus tuo tullessaan.
<br>"><br /><br />
(from my tbr-list 12/200)</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-16771641062018678592014-02-24T08:27:00.002+02:002014-02-24T11:07:12.746+02:00Aimee Carter: Pawn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1374097236l/10838787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1374097236l/10838787.jpg" width="201" /></a></div>
<strong>Aimee Carter: Pawn</strong> (The Blackcoat Rebellion, #1)<br />
<img alt=" 5 stars " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBjvKtnUGKSL1s70iPzSGSXUPF_F4C3kEaXBfpg3tBr1vP1AWSv9WjwD8ekOmlBpwYNFyg6k6m-8RAdC-Miw2zHzXPwFukZU0B_WT870LXG7rFZw5oOwTEh1D1hTdrBNT-kzvbTqOMFs/s1600/5stars.png" />
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<span id="freeText728156403938827440"><em><strong>YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.</strong> <br /><br />For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country. <br /><br />If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter. <br /><br />There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.</em></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~~~~</div>
<br />
<span title="Kitty elää maailmassa, jossa ihmiset on jaettu kasteihin, josta ylimpänä luokkana on VII, joka kuuluu vain päämisterille perheineen.">Kitty lives in a world where people are divided into castes, highest class being VII, which belongs only to Prime Minister and their families. </span><span title="Muut joutuvat 17 vuotta täyttäessään testiin, joka määrittelee heidän yhteiskuntaluokkansa.">Others will have to participate in a test on their 17th birthday, which will determine their social class. </span><span title="Kitty, sankarittaremme joka ei osaa lukea, saa testin perusteella luokan III ja on tuomittu elämään viemärityöntekijänä.">Kitty, our heroine who unfortunately can not read, gets III and has been sentenced to life as a sewageworker. But</span><span title="Yllättävien tapahtumien seurauksena Kitty saa kuitenkin tarjouksen, josta ei voi kieltäytyä."> as a result of unexpected events gets an offer she can't refuse. Sh</span><span title="Hänelle tarjotaan elämää VII:nä, korkeimmassa mahdollisessa yhteiskuntaluokassa.">e can have a life as VII, the highest possible social class. Kitty accepts this offer, but doesn't know </span><span title="Hyväksyessään tarjouksen Kitty ei kuitenkaan tiedä, mikä häntä odottaa.">what awaits her. Kitty will be Masked - surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who was murdered.</span><span title="Hänen tietämättään hänet muutetaan kirurgisesti päämisterin murhatuksi sisarentyttäreksi Lilaksi, jotta tämän murha ei vuotaisi julkisuuteen.
"><br /></span><span title="Kaikki tämä sen vuoksi, että Lila oli suuri vallankumouksen puolestapuhuja."></span><br />
<span title="Kaikki tämä sen vuoksi, että Lila oli suuri vallankumouksen puolestapuhuja.">All of this because Lila was a great advocate of the revolution. </span><span title="Lila kampanjoi kastijärjestelmää vastaan ja nyt Kittyn tehtävänä on korjata Lilan tekemiset, jotta kansa ei ryhtyisi täysimittaiseen kapinaan ja sotaan nykyistä hallitusta vastaan.">Lila campaigned against the caste system and now Kitty's task is to repair Lila's doings, so that the people would not take a full-scale rebellion against the government. As t</span><span title="Tarinan edessä Kitty kuitenkin ymmärtää olevansa vain syötti muiden ohjaamassa pelissä, eikä mikään olekaan sitä, miltä se näyttää.">he story progresses, Kitty understands that she is just a pawn in other peoples games and everything is not what it seems. </span><span title="Kehen Kitty voi luottaa ja mitä hänen on tehtävä säilyttääkseen omansa, sekä rakkaidensa hengen?
">Who Kitty cantrust and what she has to do in order to save her own, as well as her loved ones' lives?</span><br />
<span title="Kehen Kitty voi luottaa ja mitä hänen on tehtävä säilyttääkseen omansa, sekä rakkaidensa hengen?
"><br /></span><span title="Kirjan juoni oli heti ensisilmäyksellä valtavan mielenkiintoinen ja iskinkin silmäni tähän kirjaan jo kuukausia sitten, jopa ennen kirjan julkaisua.">The book's plot was interesting and I set my eyes on this book months ago, even before the publication of the book. However, I read it only now and it really didn't disappoint me</span><span title="Sain kirjan kuitenkin vasta nyt luettua, eikä se ollut missään tapauksessa pettymys.">. </span><span title="Kirjassa on mysteeriä, toimintaa ja romantiikkaa, ja kuten jo aiemmin mainitsin, kaikki ei todellakaan ole sitä miltä ne aluksi vaikuttavat.">There is mystery, action and romance, and as I already mentioned, all is not what they first seem to be. </span><span title="Kitty on aivan mahtava hahmo ja jo alussa näkee kuinka hyvä ihminen hän todella on.">Kitty is just an awesome character from the beginning and you can see how good a person she really is. Sh</span><span title="Hän on valmis uhraamaan itsensä toisten puolesta ja selviää yllättävän hyvin tilanteesta, jossa hänet paiskataan suoraan elämään, joka on hänelle täysin vieras.">e is ready to sacrifice herselves for others, and she survives surprisingly well in a situation where she was directly thrown into a life that is completely foreign to her. </span><span title="Ja vaikka Kitty ei osaa lukea, hän on silti erittäin fiksu.">And even if Kitty can't read, she is still very smart. </span><span title="Ja erittäin sisukas.">And she's spunky. </span><span title="Täysin toivottomassakin tilanteessa hänestä löytyy kipinää, eikä hän lannistu.">In a hopeless situation she found a spark, and she doesn't give up. </span><span title="Toisaalta Kittyssä oli mielestäni ehkä yksi melkoisen rasittava piirre.">On the other hand, she has one "tiny" flaw. </span><span title="Hänen maailmansa tuntui pyörivän vain Benjyn ympärillä, joka ei mielestäni ollut millään tavalla kiinnostava hahmo.">Her world seems to rotate only around Benjy, who I did not think in any way interesting character. There's nothing wrong with a</span><span title="Epäitsekkyydessä ei ole mitään pahaa, mutta jotenkin se tuntui menevän vähän liian pitkälle.">ltruism, but somehow it seemed to go a little too far. </span><span title="Uhkaile Benjyä, niin Kitty tekee kaiken mitä käsketään.">Threaten Benjy and Kitty does everything she's told. </span><span title="Ja uhkailuahan riitti.">And there was a lot of threatning. </span><span title="Välillä se tuntui jo vähän huvittavaltakin, olisi pitänyt varmaan laskea kuinka monta kertaa kirjassa uhkattiin Benjyn henkeä tai kuinka monta kertaa Kitty suostui tekemään jotain vain Benjyn vuoksi.
">At times, it seemed a little amusing, I should've counted how many times Benjy's life was threated or how many times the Kitty agreed to do something just because of Benjy.</span><br />
<span title="Välillä se tuntui jo vähän huvittavaltakin, olisi pitänyt varmaan laskea kuinka monta kertaa kirjassa uhkattiin Benjyn henkeä tai kuinka monta kertaa Kitty suostui tekemään jotain vain Benjyn vuoksi.
"><br /></span><span title="Itse nimittäin olen ehdottomasti Kittyn ja Knoxin kannalla ja toivon ehdottomasti, että seuraavassa kirjassa heidän välillään olisi jotain säpinää.">In fact, I root for Kitty and Knox, and I very much hope that in the next book, there will some action or sparkle between them. </span><span title="Benjy on tylsä, merkityksetön hahmo, jolla ei tunnu olevan mitään muuta tarkoitusta, kun olla uhkailujen kohteena.">Benjy is a boring, meaningless character, who does not seem to have any other purpose than to be threated. </span><span title="Sori, Benjy-fanit, mutta Benjy voisi minun mielestäni kadota.">Sorry, Benjy-fans, but I think that Benjy should just disappear. I wouldn't miss him.</span><span title="Ei tulisi ikävä.
"><br /></span><br />
<span title="Ei tulisi ikävä.
">Otherwise, there was certainly enough action. Sometimes even too much. The plot progressed quite rapidly. On the other hand, there wasn't even a moment of borebom and there were plenty of exciting plot twists, some pretty major. And things really wasn't what they seemed to be at first, quite literaly.</span><span title="Kirjan edetessä nimittäin selviää, että moni asia ei todellakaan ole niin, kuten aluksi annetaan ymmärtää.
"><br /><br />The book reminded me of The Selection series, which wasn't a bod thing, 'cos I love that series and it's one of my favourites. I think that the fans of that series will like this one too and also the other way around. In my opinion, there wasn't that major cliffhanget in the end, but this part of the story was wrapped up pretty nicely. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.</span><br />
<br />
(from my tbr-list 11/200)Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-39501220679636815152014-02-20T10:42:00.000+02:002014-02-20T12:15:17.758+02:00Katie Kacvinsky: Awaken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311474171l/8665876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311474171l/8665876.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<strong>Katie Kacvinsky: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8665876-awaken" target="_blank">Awaken</a></strong> (Awaken, #1)
<br />
<strong><img alt="4 stars" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenNtE46IkRP0DJdoG4U2KRL7Lfx3kg1AtCs9vM5tQw7TuMNGosS1sisbX76e7E1oW-AKSJXsD9WBjF3HnlpRDJU8ap90bNv9MODFAbfANUbThYdDIStD5t8akHFS7FD-RBwhbH3waTIs/s1600/4stars.png" /></strong><br />
<br />
<em>Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life—until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her—a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.</em><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Don't worry about hurting me, if that's what you're afraid of. I want to get hurt. At least I´ll feel something for a change.”</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<span en-us="" lang="EN-US">Katie
Kacvinsky's debut novel, <strong>Awaken</strong>, takes us to the year 2060,
where people's lives are almost entirely online. People go to school online,
meet friends online and go on a date online. Real trees and grass are very
rare and have been replaced with plastic ones. There are no more physical books; people
read them in digital format. People no longer cook food, but eat tasteless
energy bars, where they receive all the nutrients needed. People do not even
know what their neighbors look like, because they have never met them face to
face. <br />
<br />
That is the world where Maddie lives and she is relatively
satisfied in life, until she meets Justin, who shows her a different way
to live, in the real world. Justin is in fact one of the rebels, who are
fighting against the ever increasing digital live. But everything isn't that
simple, as Maddie's father is the developer of digital school, and
the largest of its advocate. Maddie is confused and does not know what would be
the right way to live. On the other hand, she enjoys her digital life, but at
the same time misses real people and real life. And
Maddie's past isn't absolutely spotless either. Nearly three years ago,
she hacked her father's computer's secret information and gave them to the
rebels, with catastrophic consequences. Maddie is on probation until her 18th
birthday, and if she makes even one wrong move, she is at risk of going into a
detention center where people go to "rehabilitation". </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span en-us="" lang="EN-US">I think this
book is an incredibly great example of what our society is perhaps going. A
rather frightening example. In </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Maddie's world, people's whole life is online; we are luckily not
quite there. The reality, however, is that
Facebook and other social media are pushing our society toward it all the time.
We pay bills online and without e-mail address life is almost impossible. For
example, many of the bills come in there, and no longer physically in mailbox
or post office. We order stuff online and I myself have studied online. At
least in Finland it is possible to carry out the whole high school online, so
that only the tests will take place at the school doing them physically. In
fact, I did not even know what my teachers looked like, because I never met
them. I'm not complaining about that, 'cos at same time I was studying also
elsewhere, so it would've been impossible to be in two places at once, but it's
frightening to think that maybe in the future it's the only way to go to
school.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<span en-us="" lang="EN-US">The story
was well written and the characters are extremely interesting. The plot was
written nicely, so that, for example, Justin and Maddie's past and motives are
not revealed at once, but bit by bit and new aspects of the story unfolds,
and the outcome or the reality was not quite what it seemed at the beginning.
The back-story, the events and characters hatched into something completely
different, what you first thought. There was also some gaps and questions
left without answer, which I hope will be revealed in the following books.
I myself have at least some theories and a guesses, and I look forward reading
the next book to see if I guessed correctly. And, in particular, what
Justine's and Maddie's future holds, and if they have any hope to eventually be
together. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span title="Ja etenkin se, mitä Justinen ja Maddien tulevaisuus tuo tullessaan ja onko heillä mitään toivoa lopulta olla yhdessä.
<br>"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span title="Ja etenkin se, mitä Justinen ja Maddien tulevaisuus tuo tullessaan ja onko heillä mitään toivoa lopulta olla yhdessä.
<br>">
(Read from my Goodreads tbr-list.)</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-80464818182223322772014-02-18T20:29:00.000+02:002014-02-18T20:29:02.431+02:00Minireviews #1I've been reading lot of books past week or so and I decided to bundle them up in one post. So here's few minireviews from book that I've read recently.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375808439l/18297707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375808439l/18297707.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
<b>Emma Chase:</b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18297707-tangled" target="_blank">Tangled </a>(Tangled, #1)<br />
5/5<br />
<br />
I really liked this one. It's so refreshing to something non-fantasy once in a while. This book is one of those NA chick-lit books that have been really popular lately. And it doesn't disappoint. It's fun and light and OMg it's HOT. I mean really, really HOT. And I really love how it's written from Drew's pov.<br />
I'm definally going to read next book in this series when it comes out.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="readable">“For God's sake, don't let her watch Cinderella.
What kind of example is that? A mindless twit who can't even remember
where she left her damn shoe, so she has to wait for some douchebag in
tights to bring it to her? Give me a frigging break!”</span></blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1324675247l/12296337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1324675247l/12296337.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<b>Stacey Wallace Benefiel:</b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12296337-glow" target="_blank">Glow</a> (Zellie Wells, #3)<br />
4/5<br />
<br />
I liked this, but not as much as previous' books. I don't know. There was something missing. I gave it 4 stars, so it's good, but it took me a while to finish this one and to be honest, I was glad it ended. It wrapped things up pretty nicely thought and it wasn't bad.<br />
<br />
Zellie and gang got their "happily ever after" and revenge. That's it. Sorry, I can't think more I want to say about this book.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1250109518l/6698159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1250109518l/6698159.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Bonnie Dee, Marie Treanor</b>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6698159-cinderella-unmasked" target="_blank">Cinderella Unmasked</a> (Fairytale Fantasies, #1)<br />
4/5<br />
<span id="freeText14471427048215802880"></span><br />
In the years since
her husband King Charming boarded a pirate ship to “find himself”, Queen
Ella has ruled alone. Romantic love? It’s a girlish emotion. These
days, her only confidant is her steward, Sebastian.<br />
Five years is a
long time to forego sexual pleasures. She’s the queen, after
all..shouldn’t she be allowed a few indulgences? A masquerade is just
the ticket to find fulfillment Charming never gave her. With Sebastian’s
encouragement—and a little help from a fairy godmother—Ella prepares to
make some magic.<br />
<br />
Oh my. This is something. It's HOT, HOT, HOT. Loved it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1365985543l/8036336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1365985543l/8036336.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Bonnie Dee, Marie Treanor</b>: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8036336-demon-lover" target="_blank">Demon Lover</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank"></a> (Fairytale Fantasies, #2)<br />
4/5<br />
<br />
<span id="freeText4923341354969018757">"Rumplestiltskin is <em>not</em> his name and this hunk’s no gnarled old goblin."</span><br />
<span id="freeText4923341354969018757"> </span> <br />
Fairytales fantasies continues. This time authors took Rumpletiltskin and Persephone myth, combined them and made something magical and sexy.<br />
<br />
Books a bit short, but they are full of really hot scenes that will make you blush. I love fairytale retellings, and especially when they turn them into something sexy and exciting.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1369597694l/15793231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1369597694l/15793231.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Emily Murdoch:</b> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15793231-if-you-find-me" target="_blank">If You Find Me</a><br />
5/5<br />
<br />
Oh.. This was tragic. This really was an awful book. Well, not the book, but the story. I mean that it was great and it was well written, but my heart just broke again and again when I read this. This really is great heartbreaking survival story, one that you really must read. This made me really think and see world pretty differently. I don't know what to say. I was absolutely speechless for a while when I finished this. This story really made me think.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="freeText7016687808514829261"><em><strong>There are some things you can’t leave behind…</strong></em></span></blockquote>
Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-14992689637631934602014-02-18T13:41:00.002+02:002014-02-18T13:46:47.779+02:00My goal this year: shorten my TBR-listI've decided that this year I have a goal. I'm finally trying to shorten my tbr list. Last year I added a lot of books that I ment to read, but that didn't happen. Well, I read a lot, but there are still lot of books that have been just waiting there. So this year I try to pick my readings from that list and I try not to add too much new books.<br />
<br />
So...<br />
<br />
Currently I have 194 books in my list. It a lot. I know that many have even more, but I'd like to keep my list short or I get overwhelmed when I try to pick what to read next. I can't make up my mind. So my goal is to read at least half of those books or at least delete them from my list if i'm not even going to read that book.<br />
<br />
This year I have read 7 books from my list. I've also removed few that I'm probably never going to read, but I've also added about 10 books. About half of those almost 200 books are books from series' I've never read before and about half are sequals and about 15 have not been published yet, so lets see where I am in few weeks, so stay tuned. :) I'm trying to keep record.Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-40642197446394351342014-02-18T11:47:00.000+02:002014-02-18T11:47:14.682+02:00Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Reader/Book Blogger<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWhl7M9aVp-hdfopl7vZJfsNEPlgXqtRIlr3K46Mv0a1d2mpGva1ipMwFZtg08Y6cnPfFRNmoNcCyv2cOtY9QYd-R7cMeQMRl39wHolUwhLkmqhk9g-3OORgt_cjGXUDQbk50UCBkHHxi/s320/toptentuesday2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVWhl7M9aVp-hdfopl7vZJfsNEPlgXqtRIlr3K46Mv0a1d2mpGva1ipMwFZtg08Y6cnPfFRNmoNcCyv2cOtY9QYd-R7cMeQMRl39wHolUwhLkmqhk9g-3OORgt_cjGXUDQbk50UCBkHHxi/s320/toptentuesday2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(TTT is a weekly meme hosted by <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc4d22;">The Broke and the Bookish</span></a>)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Reader/Book Blogger: </span></span></span></b></h2>
<h2 class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span title="Rakastan olla lukija, koska se antaa minulle mahdollisuuden uppoutua täysin toiseen maailmaan ja unohtaa omat murheeni ja huoleni."><strong>I love being a reader</strong>, because it gives me the opportunity to fully focus on another world and forget all about my worries and concerns. </span><span title="Voin sulkea todellisen maailman täysin ulkopuolella ja kuvitella olevani mukana tarinassa.">I can close the real world completely outside and imagine being in the story. </span></span><span title="Oma elämä on joskus perseestä, mutta lukiessa sen voi unohtaa ja keskittyä vain täysin tarinaan.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My life is f*ed up sometimes but when I'm reading, I can forget it and focus only to the story I'm reading.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span title="Oma elämä on joskus perseestä, mutta lukiessa sen voi unohtaa ja keskittyä vain täysin tarinaan.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span title="Rakastan olla lukija, koska se on harrastus, johon ei tarvitse tuhlata paljon rahaa."><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>I love being a reader</strong>, because it is a hobby that does not have eat a lot of money. </span></span><span title="Kirjastossa on miljoonia kirjoja, joita saa lainattua ilmaiseksi, eivät e-kirjatkaan ole kalliita.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The library has millions of books that can be borrowed free of charge and e-books are not that expensive.</span></span></div>
<span title="Kirjastossa on miljoonia kirjoja, joita saa lainattua ilmaiseksi, eivät e-kirjatkaan ole kalliita.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span title="Rakastan olla lukija, koska se tekee minut älykkäämmäksi."><strong>I love being a reader</strong>, because it makes me feel smarter. </span><span title="Sanavarastoni ja kielitaitoni on kasvanut huomattavasti, lisäksi olen imenyt itseeni huikean määrän kaikenlaista nippelitietoa (vaikka en tiedä, onko niistä koskaan mitään hyötyä).">My vocabulary and language skills has increased considerably and I've absorbed the huge amount of all kinds of trivia (though I don't know if I ever need it). </span></span><span title="Ehkä olen myös oppinut jotain uuttakin itsestäni ja ympärillä olevasta maailmasta.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe I've also learned something new about myself and the world around me.</span></span></div>
<span title="Ehkä olen myös oppinut jotain uuttakin itsestäni ja ympärillä olevasta maailmasta.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span title="Rakastan olla lukija, koska minulla ei ole koskaan tylsää."><strong>I love being a reader</strong>, because I have never a dull moment. </span><span title="Lukeminen ei lopu ikinä.">Reading never stops. </span></span><span title="Voisin lukea vaikka koko hereilläoloaikani, eivätkä mielenkiintoiset kirjat loppuisi siltikään ikinä kesken.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could read all my waking hours and there are always more great books.</span></span></div>
<span title="Voisin lukea vaikka koko hereilläoloaikani, eivätkä mielenkiintoiset kirjat loppuisi siltikään ikinä kesken.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</span><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span title="Rakastan olla lukija, koska vaikka maailmanloppu tulisi, en kyllästyisi."><strong>I love being a reader,</strong> because even if the world would end, I won't get bored. </span><span title="Vaikka sähköt ja tietotekniikka katoavaisivat, kirjat ja painattu sana jäisi jäljelle.">Although electricity and computers would disappear, books would be left. </span></span></div>
<span title="En tiedä kuinka paljon maailmanlopun jälkeen olisi aikaa tai halua lukea, mutta se olisi kuitenkin mahdollista.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know how much I'd have time or desire to read, but it would be possible .</span></div>
<div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
</span><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span title="En tiedä kuinka paljon maailmanlopun jälkeen olisi aikaa tai halua lukea, mutta se olisi kuitenkin mahdollista.
"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span title="Rakastan olla lukija, koska se on yksinkertaisesti hauskaa."><strong>I love being a reader,</strong> because it is simply fun. </span><span title="Yksi kirja voi saada sinut vihaiseksi, onnelliseksi, raivon valtaan, nauramaan tai itkemään.">One book can make you angry, happy, raging lunatic, laugh or cry. </span><span title="Hyvä kirja voi saada sinut hyppimään onnesta ja jännittävä loppu voi saada sormesi kihisemään ja hermosi lähes ratkeamispisteeseen, kun odotat niin jännityneenä seuraavaa kirjaa.">A good book can get you to jump with happiness and exciting cliffhanger can make your fingers and nerves itch, while you wait for the next book. </span></span><span title="Ja jos olet oikein intohimoinen lukija, joskus tekisi mieli heittää kirja seinään, kun olet niin raivoissasi kirjailijalle tai kirjan hahmolle.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And if you're really passionate reader, sometimes you feel like throwing the book on the wall when you are so furious with the writer of a book or character.</span></span></div>
<span title="Ja jos olet oikein intohimoinen lukija, joskus tekisi mieli heittää kirja seinään, kun olet niin raivoissasi kirjailijalle tai kirjan hahmolle.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span title="Rakastan olla bloggaaja, koska voin jakaa oman mielipiteeni, raivoni ja onneni kirjasta muiden kanssa."><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>I love being a blogger,</strong> because I can share my own opinion, my rage and my happiness with the book with others. </span></span><span title="Voin vuodattaa kaikki tunteeni kirjasta ulos ja kenties joku on mielissään saadessaan lukea sitä ja löytää itse kirjan, jonka lukemisesta nauttii blogini kautta.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can pour out all my feelings out, and perhaps someone is pleased to get to read it and find that book through my blog .</span></span></div>
<span title="Voin vuodattaa kaikki tunteeni kirjasta ulos ja kenties joku on mielissään saadessaan lukea sitä ja löytää itse kirjan, jonka lukemisesta nauttii blogini kautta.
"><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
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<span title="Rakastan olla bloggaaja, koska joskus saan mahdollisuuden saada kirjoja ilmaiseksi tai ennakkoon."><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>I love being a blogger,</strong> because sometimes I get a chance to get books for free or in advance. </span></span><span title="Intohimoinen lukija ei voi olla rakastamatta sitä, että saa jonkin kirjan käsiinsä ennen muita ja vielä ilmaiseksi.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Passionate reader can not but to love getting hold of a book before others and for free.</span></span></div>
<span title="Intohimoinen lukija ei voi olla rakastamatta sitä, että saa jonkin kirjan käsiinsä ennen muita ja vielä ilmaiseksi.
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<span title="Rakastan olla bloggaaja, koska lukemalla myös muiden blogeja olen löytänyt aivan uskomattoman määrän mahtavia kirjoja, joita en varmasti olisi muuten ikinä löytänyt.
"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>I love being a blogger,</strong> because by reading other blogs, I have found an incredible number of great books that I'm sure I would have otherwise never found.</span></span></div>
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<span title="Rakastan olla bloggaaja, koska lukemalla myös muiden blogeja olen löytänyt aivan uskomattoman määrän mahtavia kirjoja, joita en varmasti olisi muuten ikinä löytänyt.
"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span title="Rakastan olla bloggaaja, koska se kehittää kielitaitoani."><strong>I love being a blogger</strong>, because it develops my language skills. Most of you</span><span title="Moni varmasti on huomannut, että englanti ei ole äidinkieleni ja tiedän itsekin tekeväni todennäköisesti paljon kirjoitus- ja kielioppivirheitä."> certainly have noticed that English is not my native language and I know that there is likely to be a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. </span><span title="Bloggaaminen auttaa minua kuitenkin oppimaan, koska todellisessa elämässä pääsen käyttämään englantia hyvin harvoin.">However, blogging helps me to learn, because in real life I get to use English very rarely.</span></span></div>
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Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-34684983403262632392014-02-18T11:08:00.001+02:002014-02-18T11:08:39.739+02:00Sophie Jordan: Uninvited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1373661248l/13645645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1373661248l/13645645.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<strong>Sophie Jordan: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13645645-uninvited" target="_blank">Uninvited</a> (Uninvited, #1)</strong><br />
<strong>5/5</strong><br />
<br />
<em>When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.<br /><br />Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.</em><br />
<br />------<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Who is this girl? The well-bred girl who sang opera and carefully styled her hair every morning so that it looked carefully messy is gone. As good as dead. Stragely enough, she has to be if I want to survive.</blockquote>
<br />
<span title="Kuvittele maailma, jossa yksi geeni määrittää sen, oletko mahdollisesti tulevaisuuden kirvesmurhaaja tai kouluampuja.">Imagine a world where a single gene determines your future, if you'll be maybe the next ax murderer or school shooter. </span><span title="Tässä kirjassa niin on.">In this book that world is reality. </span><span title="Davy Hamilton on normaali 17-vuotias nuori, jonka harrastuksiin kuuluu usieden eri soitintin soitto ja laulaminen.">Davy Hamilton is a normal 17-years-old teenager whose hobbies include playing multiple different instruments and singing . Sh</span><span title="Hän on menestyvä, suosittu ja hänet on hyväksytty opiskelemaan Juilliardiin.">e is a successful, popular, and she has been accepted to study at Juilliard. </span><span title="Eräänä päivänä testitulokset kuitenkin kertovat, että häneltä löytyy ns.">One day, however, the test results show that she has the so-called "</span><span title="tappajageeni.">killgene". </span><span title="Davy saa potkut yksityiskoulusta, hänen hyväksyntänsä Juilliardiin perutaan ja hän joutuu julkisen koulun tappajageeniluokalle, "Häkkiin".">Davy is fired from a private school, her acceptance to Juilliard canceled and she will have to go to a public schools killgene carrier class, "the Cage". </span><span title="Davyn koko elämä muuttuu kertaheitolla ja hän muuttuu suositusta musiikkilupauksesta hyljeksityksi ja pelätyksi friikiksi.">Davy's whole life will change once and for all, and she turns from popular music proginy to an outcast and feared freak. </span><span title="Elämä ei ole enää helppoa ja Davy menettää toivonsa valoisasta tulevaisuudesta.">Life is no longer easy and Davy loses her hope in a bright future. </span><span title="Kun kaikki toivo tuntuu olevan mennyttä, Davy saa kuitenkin mahdollisuuden päästä koulutusleirille, jonne vain harvat ja valitut erityiset tappajageenin omaavat nuoret voivat päästä.">When all hope seems to be gone, Davy gets an opportunity to go to a training camp, where only a selected few specific gene carriers can get. Also </span><span title="Mukaan pääsevät myös Gil ja Sean, toiset nuoret, joihin Davy on tutustunut tappajageeniluokallaan.">Gil and Sean from her carrier class get the same opportunity. </span><span title="Davy uskoo, että tämä on hänen mahdollisuutensa parempaan tulevaisuuteen, mutta leiri ei olekaan aivan sitä, mitä Davy luuli sen olevan.
">Davy believes that this is her chance for a better future, but the camp is not quite what Davy thought it would be.</span><br />
<span title="Davy uskoo, että tämä on hänen mahdollisuutensa parempaan tulevaisuuteen, mutta leiri ei olekaan aivan sitä, mitä Davy luuli sen olevan.
"><br /></span><span title="Itse nautin tästä kirjasta suunnattomasti.">I enjoyed this book immensely. </span><span title="Idea on todella mielenkiintoinen ja tarina hienosti kirjoitettu.">The idea is really interesting and the story is well written. </span><span title="Ajatus tappajageenistä kuulostaa melko pelottavalta, vaikka todellisuudessakin tutkimuksissa on muistaakseni löydetty hieman vastaava geeni, jota kantavat turvautuvat normaalia helpommin väkivaltaan.">The idea of a killer gene sounds pretty scary, when in fact studies have found a little similar gene called "warrior gene", if I remember correctly. The gene carriers resort to violence more easily than normal people. </span><br />
<span title="Tässä kirjassa asia on kuitenkin viety pidemmälle, ja tappogeeni on suorastaan epidemia ja sitä kantavat kuin ruttopotilaita, jotka eristetään muista, ja joita kartetaan.
">In this book, the idea of this gene is taken pretty far, and killgene is almost like epidemic, and it's carriers are like plague patients who are isolated from the others and avoided.<br />
</span><span title="Tässä kirjassa asia on kuitenkin viety pidemmälle, ja tappogeeni on suorastaan epidemia ja sitä kantavat kuin ruttopotilaita, jotka eristetään muista, ja joita kartetaan.
">It's interesting to think about the existence of this gene</span><span title="Geenin olemassaoloa on mielenkiintoista ajatella ja varsinkin sitä miten ihmiset turvautuvat väkivaltaan.">, especially how people resort to violence. </span><span title="Tietenkin on olemassa todellisia sosiopaatteja, jotka todella nauttivat väkivallasta, ja jotka todella ovat vaarallisia.">Of course there is a real sociopaths who really enjoy the violence and who really are dangerous. </span><span title="Mutta entä ihmiset, joiden luonteessa ei ole tippaakaan väkivaltaisuutta, kuten esimerkiksi Davy?">But what about the people whose nature is not violent at all, such as for example, Davy? </span><span title="Entä kun sinut eristetään muista, sinua pelätään ja valvotaan ja sinut suorastaan ahdistetaan nurkkaan?">What about when you are isolated from the others, you will be feared and controlled and you will be driven strait into a corner? </span><span title="Kukaan ei puolusta tai suojele sinua.">No one will defend or protect you. </span><span title="On kamalaa ajatella, että et saa puolustaa itseäsi, koska niin tehdessäsi sinut merkitään kuin karja.">It is horrible to think that you do not get to defend yourself because then you will be branded with a tattoo like a cattle. </span><span title="On aivan kamalaa, että ihmiset luokitellaan noin ja sen jälkeen heitä suorastaan provosoidaan niin kauan, kunnes toivottu reaktio saadaan.">It is absolutely horrible that some people are classified so easy, and then they actually provoke you until the "desired" reaction can be obtained. </span><span title="Se on vain niin väärin.">It's just so wrong. </span><span title="En voinut olla tuntematta kuin vihaa ajatellessani millainen maailma tässä tarinassa on.">I could not help, but to feel anger at the thought of what the world of the story is. </span><span title="Tavallaan asia on niin, että koska omaat tappogeenin, sinut tavallaan pakotetaan tappajaksi olosuhteiden pakosta.">In a way, the thing is that because you have the killgene, you will become a killer almost by force. </span><span title="Sinut ajetaan niin nurkkaan, että tappaminen tuntuu ainoalta vaihtoehdolta.
">You will be driven into a corner, so that killing seems to be only way out.</span><br />
<span title="Sinut ajetaan niin nurkkaan, että tappaminen tuntuu ainoalta vaihtoehdolta.
"><br /></span><span title="Mutta kuten sanoin, rakastin tätä kirjaa todella.">But like I said, I really loved this book. </span><span title="Luin sen yhdessä illassa, koska en vain pystynyt lopettamaan.">I read it in one night, because I just could not stop. And I really look forward </span><span title="Odotan jännityksellä, mitä seuraava kirja tuo tullessaan.">the next book. </span><span title="Voisin ehkä kuitenkin sanoa, että en ollut loppuun ehkä täysin tyytyväinen.">I could probably say, however, that I was not completely satisfied with the ending. How should I say it without spoiling too much... </span><span title="Loppu oli ihan mukava, mutta jotenkin asiat tuntuivat sujuvan ehkä liiankin mallikkaasti.">The ending was pretty nice, but somehow things happened perhaps too smoothly. In a way it was nice ending for this book, but there wasn't that delicious, nervwrecking cliffhanger, that makes you want to rip you hair off and beg to get your hand on arc of the next book. I know, those endings are always annoying, when you turn the page and it's just blank and you really have to wait the next book to know what happens. But that's the thing, you still want that ending, 'cos the waiting is so deliciously torturous. And </span><span title="Tietenkin sellaiset loput aina ärsyttävät, kun tarinaa jää niin hyvään kohtaan, mutta silti olisin toivonut enemmän jotain sen kaltaista.">I would have preferred something more like it. </span><span title="Jotain vähän isompaa.">For something little bigger, little more. </span><span title="Nyt tarina päättyi siten, että vaikka jäänkin odottamaan seuraavaa kirjaa, on todennäköistä, että sen lukemiseen ei ole mitään kiirettä, vaan luen sen julkaisun jälkeen sitten kun muistan, enkä heti ilmestymispäivänä.">Now the book ended in such a way that, even if I'm just going to want to read the next book, it is likely I'm not in a hurry to read it. I'll read after the release when I remember, but I won't lose my sleep over it.</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-80272518723632178702014-02-15T00:00:00.000+02:002014-02-18T13:57:56.933+02:00 Deborah Blumenthal: Mafia Girl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Deborah Blumenthal: Mafia Girl</b><br />
<b>3/5</b><br />
<br />
<i><b> </b><span id="freeText13802370740268625324">What's in a name?
Everything if you have my name." At her exclusive Manhattan high school,
seventeen-year-old Gia is the most hated/loved girl in school. Why? Her
father doesn't have a boss. He is the boss--the capo di tutti cappi,
boss of all bosses. Not that Gia cares. But life gets complicated when
she meets a cop she calls "Officer Hottie" and feels a suprising
chemistry. Then Vogue magazine wants to feature Gia in a fashion spread
about real-life bad girls. On top of this, she's running for class
president. Can Gia step out from under her dad's shadow and show
everyone there's more to her than "Mafia Girl?</span></i><br />
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<i><span id="freeText13802370740268625324">-----</span></i><br />
<i><span id="freeText13802370740268625324"><br /></span></i>
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324">I received free ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</span><br />
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324">This is one of those books that was easy to read. It was light, fluffy and nice. But I think it was bit average. There wasn't anything that special. I liked this book, but I think that I will forget it pretty soon. There wasn't anything that memorable that makes this book "pop up". It was pretty average teen romance novel. I don't know. I felt like there wasn't actually any particular plot. It's pretty hard to discribe</span><i><span id="freeText13802370740268625324"> </span></i><span id="freeText13802370740268625324">what I mean... There was this thing with Gia and her dad and can she really step away from his shadow and be her own person. And there were of course that romance thing. But I really wanted something more.</span><br />
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<span id="freeText13802370740268625324">I think that I was too old for this book. I'm not old, old (I'm 24), but I still think that maybe I'm too old or maybe I've read so much that I have centain expectations about a book. And this one didn't rise up to them. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good for me.</span><br />
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324">I loved Clive. I'd love to read more about him. He seemed interesting. I think he deserves his own book. I liked Gia, but I loved Clive, even if he wasn't MC. He deserved more.</span><br />
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324"><br /></span>
<span id="freeText13802370740268625324">I don't really know what to say about this book. I know I'm repeating myself, but it really wasn't that memorable book. It was nice and it was easy to read and the cover is nice, but expected something more. Something that makes this somehow special. I'm not saying that this is a bad book, 'cos it wasn't. I think I would've liked it more if I was younger.</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-26687185027901381562014-02-13T13:26:00.003+02:002014-02-13T13:30:32.465+02:00Rasheedah Prioleau: American Specter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="freeText15567743105608755121"><b>4/5</b></span><br />
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<span id="freeText15567743105608755121">------- <b><br /></b></span><br />
<span id="freeText15567743105608755121"><b> </b></span><i><span id="freeText15567743105608755121"><br /></span></i><br />
<i><span id="freeText15567743105608755121">FBI Agent Audra Wheeler
has been haunted for the last thirteen years by a paranormal attack
that left her sister, Kendra, in a coma. Mentored by FBI Assistant
Director Jonathan Cordero to investigate crimes committed by specters,
Audra believes she is on the trail of a ‘serial killer’ specter with a
MO very similar to her sister’s attacker. The investigation takes her
to a small town of Specter, Georgia; a haven for ghosts who exist among
the living.</span></i><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText15567743105608755121">------- </span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeText15567743105608755121"> </span>I received this book in exchange for a honest review .<br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="Sain tämän kirjan vastineeksi rehellisesti arvostelusta.
"><br /></span><span title="Ensinäkemältä kirja ei vakuuttanut minua kovinkaan paljon, mutta yllättyin kuitenkin erittäin positiivisesti.">At first, the book did not impress me all that much, but then it surprised me very positively. </span><span title="Jostain syystä kirja tuntui aluksi kovin täksähtelevältä ja juoni suorastaan läpinäkyvän ilmeisestä, mutta olin pahasti väärässä.">For
some reason, the writing didn't feel very smooth and the plot
seemed very transparent, but I was sorely mistaken. But if you feel like me and the book don't seem very convincing at first, don't stop reading. It really improves towards the end.</span><span title="Jos siis sinulle käy kuten minulle, eikä alku vakuuta, älä kuitenkaan lopeta lukemista, koska kirja paranee ehdottomasti loppua kohden.
"></span></span><br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="Jos siis sinulle käy kuten minulle, eikä alku vakuuta, älä kuitenkaan lopeta lukemista, koska kirja paranee ehdottomasti loppua kohden.
"></span></span><br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="Jos siis sinulle käy kuten minulle, eikä alku vakuuta, älä kuitenkaan lopeta lukemista, koska kirja paranee ehdottomasti loppua kohden.
">So after all, I really liked this book and it was almost perfect. There were some things that felt like they weren't quite finishes or maybe there was just that last "polish" missing. But the story was awesome and I couln't put it away before I was finished. So in the end, I read the whole book in one sitting.</span></span><br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="Lopulta siis luin kirjan yhdellä istumalla loppuun asti.
"></span></span><br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="Kirjan alussa ajattelin, että "roisto" olisi aivan selkeä ja se olisi hän.">At first, I thought that it was quite clear who the bad guy was. It's him, I thought. Then I changed my mind. And then I changed my mind again. And again. And the real villain was surprise for at least for me. I'm trying to not spoil too much, but when they first explained the reasons for specters existence, it felt kinda dumn. I thought so. I felt like I needed to hit my head somewhere. It felt so stupid. I thought that it was unnecessary so explain it, that it didn't have anything to do with the plot and the whole thing felt like it had forcibly shoved into the book.</span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="Silloin olisi tehnyt mieli iskeä päätä seinään, koska se ei jostain syystä tuntunut liittyvän millään tavalla kirjan varsinaiseen juoneen ja se tuntui vain yksityiskohdalta, joka on väkisin tungettu kirjaan.
"> In the end, however, everything fit together nicely and the book felt whole. It seems like this book is first in a series and I really hope so, because I would love to read more book from this author. I hope that the next book will be just as good, and maybe even a little better. It just need to little more polished that this one, and I believe it'll be perfect.</span></span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4043185642131288110.post-43372149329195862442014-02-07T15:25:00.000+02:002014-02-07T15:25:46.331+02:00Laini Taylor: Daughter of Smoke and Bone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1338613368l/8490112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1338613368l/8490112.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<strong>Laini Taylor: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-bone" target="_blank">Daughter of Smoke and Bone</a></strong> (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1)<br />
<strong>5/5</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<span id="freeText15822805556427069690"><em>Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.<br /><br />In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.<br /><br />And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.<br /><br />Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.<br /><br />When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?</em></span><br />
<span><em></em></span><br />
<span><em>----</em></span><br />
<span><em></em></span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>Once upon a time,<br />an angel and a devil fell in love.<br /><br />It did not end well.</em></blockquote>
<em> </em><br />
<br />
<span>This is (again) one of those books that have been haunting be in labrary for ages and I finally picked it up and loaned it. I've been meaning to read it before, but somehow I always put it off. But yeah, finally it's read. And oh boy, I loved it. It was so much better than I expected. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It was amazing. The synopsis doesn't do justice to this book, it doesn't tell anything. I think it's pretty misleading. It makes sense after you read this book, but I think it's not that appealing. I only picked this up, 'cos I got tired to looking at in the library everytime is went there. But I'm really glad that I read it. Really, really glad. Amazing start to this series!</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>This was my second book that took place Prague recently and the city seems great. And as mentioned in my last review, now it's in my "must visit"-list.</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>This book was so ometional and overwhelming and everything, that it's so hard to say anything about it. I loved it. It sums it up pretty good. But that's not a proper review, so I need to write something that tells little bit more.</span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>We have a tendancy with YA books to have stories that have super happy couples and happy endings where everything works out and everything is just kisses and butterflies and stuff. Not in this book. This book is pretty dark and Karou's and Akiva's lovestory is really tragic. Kind of like Romeo and Juliet mated with YA paranormal romance. It was powerful and heartbreaking and... I don't know. I really can't wait to read more. This book was so unique and extraordinary and the world behind it is great. I love it and I love everything about this book.</span>Riikka Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11070282336904853925noreply@blogger.com0