Stacking the Shelves (11) and Vlog (8)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to showcase any books that I have received for review, bought, borrowed, or won to read.


In this overdue book haul vlog, I overuse the word exciting and swear I am not a stalker:

For Review:
Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris (Thanks to HarperCollins Canada!)
The End Games by T. Michael Martin (Thanks to HarperCollins Canada!)
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (Thanks to Hachette Book Group Canada!)
The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa (Thanks to HarlequinTeen and NetGalley!)

Traded:
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Mentioned in vlog:
T. Michael Martin's YouTube Channel

In other news, I've been GIF'd!! Bahaha!!!!

gif is from THIS Stacking the Shelves vlog

Review: Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie

Publisher: Penguin
Published: November 13, 2012
Pages: 512
Source: Bought
Rating: 3 Stars

Cassia faces the ultimate choices in the long-anticipated conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Matched Trilogy.
After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.
In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Matched Trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without.

This review is spoiler-free

In short: Reached by Ally Condie is a satisfactory conclusion to a decent series.

I loved Matched when it was released. The world building fascinated me and the writing was exquisite. Its sequel, Crossed, was when I fell out of love with the series. It was at this point that I became a bit frustrated with the lack of any interesting plot, as well as the lack of character development for the main players. Still, the writing was just as beautiful. Unfortunately, Reached is much the same as Crossed in that the plot is boring and even with Xander's point of view added into the mix, I never formed much of a connection with any of the characters. But I still appreciate Ally Condie's poetic writing.

Just like with Matched and Crossed, Reached is a very slowly paced book. The slow pacing worked for me in Matched as I loved the time that was put into the amazing world building, but I began to lose my patience with it in Crossed in which the slow pacing was emphasized by a lack of anything particularly interesting going on in the plot. With Reached, it's much the same as with Crossed except instead of 350 pages, it's 500 pages long and all the more boring for it. There was a lot of medical jargon and info dumps that didn't really help matters. As readers, we expect and hope series finales to out with a bang. Unfortunately, very few scenes of significance and impact actually take place in Reached.

One of the most important things with the last book in a series is that your questions get answered satisfactorily. In this way, Reached was a success, I suppose. Overall, Reached was a passable conclusion to a decent series that I had unfortunately fallen out of love with. I would recommend Reached to those who have read and liked Crossed as it had a similar feel and tone. Though I was disappointed that the series went out with more of a whimper instead of a bang, I am glad that I saw it through at least.

Previously, my reviews of Matched and Crossed.

Other Reviews:
Logan E. Turner
Lunar Rainbows
YA Book Queen

Authors Links:
Website
Blog
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Goodreads

Top Ten Books I HAD To Buy... But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday! I decided I was tired of missing out on all the fun with everyone else. I may start alternating Top Ten Tuesdays and Waiting On Wednesday memes from week to week.

This week's theme is...

Top Ten Books I HAD To Buy... But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf Unread

The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordin

The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

John Green Box Set

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Anna Dress in Blood by Kendare Blake

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

BEHOLD MY SHAME. In all of these cases, I was SO excited to read these books after reading other bloggers' reviews that I just HAD to run out and buy the books immediately... only to have them sit on my shelf for months, collecting dust. Occasionally I will make time in my reading schedule of review books to "reward" myself with one of these babies, but that seems to happen few and far between. And honestly, the list above is only a small fraction of the books I could've included in this list. This is just embarrassing.

Probably the worst offense on this list is John Green's Box Set. I own all of John Green's books (including Will Grayson, Will Grayson) and have been a HUGE fan of the Vlogbrothers since almost their inception. And yet... nothing. I have not read one book of his. And I have no excuse. But I will absolutely be making it my main goal this year to read John Green's books! Finally!

Review: Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis

Publisher: Penguin
Published: January 15, 2013
Pages: 369
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Stars

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.
But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.
Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

This review is spoiler-free

In short: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis was an intense and thrilling finale to an incredibly exciting and entertaining series.

FREX, Shades of Earth was INTENSE. The action picks up right where it left off in A Million Suns and does not let up. As with Across the Universe and A Million Suns, Shades of Earth is very fast paced and that, along with short chapters that all end in mini cliffhangers, will ensure that you speed through the story quickly. Shades of Earth is a fantastic conclusion to an incredibly fun and entertaining series. The stakes are raised to a seemingly impossibly high amount. I've come to care for Elder and Amy so much that I was all the more tense while reading, just hoping they would make it through the series okay. Chaos, lies, and murder abound in this absolutely thrilling finale.

Probably one of my favourite things about the Across the Universe Trilogy is the frequency of surprising and shocking twists in the plot. I'm not exactly sure how she does it, but just when you think there couldn't possibly be any secrets left to reveal in this world - BAM - Beth Revis hits you with a whopper that leaves you reeling and in need of a moment to gather your wits about you in the wake of all that craziness. Seemingly in the next moment - BAM - comes another blow, another crazy surprise twist that had never occurred to you and has you literally gasping out loud. Again and again and again. This is what makes this series so FUN and I LOVE it.

Those who have read Across the Universe and A Million Suns know that Beth Revis is a master of world building and Shades of Earth is no exception - it is always intriguing and never bogged down with too many details that would bore. What's more, she's set up an amazing base for if she ever chose to continue writing books set in this world. She could write a whole new trilogy with how much is left to discover! And it would be just as exciting and intriguing as the world building in this trilogy, I'm sure! And I would absolutely need to be first in line to get it.

Now, I can't say that Shades of Earth is absolutely perfect - I noticed a number of plot holes and scientific inaccuracies - but I could really care less. In my mind, those minor mistakes take a back seat to the real meat of the novel. Shades of Earth, and indeed the entire trilogy on a whole, is exciting, surprising, and entertaining. It is an awesome sci fi, and insane thriller, and a deep felt romance. If you haven't read this trilogy yet, then what the heck are you waiting for?

Previously, my reviews of Across the Universe and A Million Suns.

Other Reviews:
Alice Marvels
Mad Musings of Masters Mind
Nori's Closet

Authors Links:
Website
Blog
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Facebook
Goodreads

Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop

Hop! Welcome to the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, Books Complete Me, & author Cindy Thomas and running from March 15 to March 22, 2012.

For this blog hop, I'll be giving away:

Any Book worth up to $15 CDN from The Book Depository!

Rules
1. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below
2. Open Internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you
3. Ends March 22 at 11:59 PM EST
5. Entrants must be at least 13 years old
6. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond.

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway