50/50 Friday - Least Favorite/Favorite Cover

This meme is hosted at The Butterfly Reader and Blue Eye Books

This week's topic is least favorite / favorite cover

Least Favorite Cover

 

So there are a lot of covers that I really, really don't like, so for the purpose of this post, I'm going to be choosing from books that I have already read, to narrow it down a bit. I Am Number Four was actually a really enjoyable book....but that cover. Ugh, its like I'm looking into some kind of weird light bulb? It kind of hurts if I look at it too long. I don't understand how people looked at this cover and thought "yeah, that's an awesome cover!!! Let's definitely use that for our book!" No. Just, no.

Favorite Cover

 

As with the terrible covers, there are so many beautiful covers that I love! So I am choosing one out of the books I have already read. Hush, Hush has such an amazing cover! Everything from the wings, the feathers, and the color scheme is just perfect. I love how it's mostly black and white, but there's a bit of red as well. I love, love, love it! It's not my only favorite cover, but for the sake of this post, I'm going with this one. Because if I shared all the covers that fall under my favorites.....this post would be wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too long.

What do you think about these covers? Does the cover of I Am Number Four hurt your eyes as much as it hurts mine?

Tides by Betsy Cornwell

Series: N/A
Author: Betsy Cornwell
Page Count: 304
Published: June 4th, 2013
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4 Stars ★★★★

Noah and Lo head to their grandmother's house on an island for the summer. Noah is excited to start his internship at a center for marine biology, and Lo continues to struggle with an eating disorder. When their grandmother's friend reacts strangely to a story about selkies, Noah brushes it off. And then he meets Mara, who happens to be a real life selkie.

Becoming friends with Mara is unexpected, but a positive addition to his summer. His grandmother's friend turns out to be more than a friend, and he hopes that his mentor at the internship will give him a job other than organizing papers for his work. As the summer goes  on, relationships change, and secrets are revealed. No matter the outcome, Noah and Lo will not leave the island the same as they were before.

I knew that I was going to enjoy this book from the very start, from the prologue. The prologue sets the stage for the story, on the islands, the Isles of Shoals, and of course, in the water. The writing style immediately drew me in, with the beautiful description of the setting, that made me long to walk along a beach or lake, to experience the beauty of the water and of islands and bright summer days. This description did not lose its quality, as throughout the novel, the water and islands were once again discussed with great detail, which provided me with amazing visuals as a reader.

The third person narration was a great choice, with multiple perspectives used throughout the book. I think that the use of multiple perspectives brought a lot to the book because it gave the reader glimpses into what was going on in Mara's head, in Lo's thoughts, and in the minds of other characters. It provided insight on what they were struggling with.

Lo and Noah faced different issues, including an eating disorder and the promise of college in the future. However, it was not only the human characters who faced their own problems, as Mara's hopes to lead her "pod" provided a coming-of-age story-line, and her fears over her brother leaving reflected the fears of real people in every day life. Noah's grandmother and her friend, who turns out to be a little something more than a friend, brought up the societal issues and pressures revolving around love and sexuality, which was further explored when their pasts together were explained in detail, which provided some great back story and a background for their own sweet sub-plot.

There was a bit of romance within the book between Noah and Mara. While it seemed genuine and refrained from the addition of a love triangle, it was very predictable. I think that was one of the short comings of this book for me. It was extremely predictable, as I guessed the majority of the events and reveals correctly, which was a bit disappointing.

Overall this was a great read, with beautiful descriptions and a bittersweet ending. I recommend this to those looking for books which explore real-life issues while including paranormal or fantasy creatures. If you're interested in young adult novels that take place on islands or near beaches, this is a great pick for you.

Find Tides on Goodreads

50/50 Friday - Character Most/Least Like Yourself

This meme is hosted at The Butterfly Reader and Blue Eye Books

This week's topic is character most / least like yourself

Character Most Like Myself

I'm going to have to say, Varen from Nevermore, for a few reasons. Number one, our style. I love Gothic stuff, and although right now I can't afford all the awesome Goth clothing I want, if I could afford it, I'd literally dress exactly like him. Number two, we both seem to have a history of being judged or misunderstood, partially due to our appearances (the whole all black clothes thing). Third, we both have family issues that kind of haunt us. And lastly, I like to think that I may someday be able to achieve being as swoon-worthy as Varen himself *winks* 

Character Least Like Myself

Saba from Blood Red Road is nothing like me at all. She was more of the fighter type, really tough, less emotional. Just the thought of having to do the things that she did and live in the places that she lived makes me cringe. We truly are nothing alike at all. 

What characters are most and least like yourself?

 

Ward Against Death by Melanie Card

 Series: Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer
Author: Melanie Card
Page Count: 306
Published: August 2nd, 2011
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
  4 Stars ★★★★

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. 

Ward is a necromancer and a physician. He also takes part in illegal surgeries, which has left him on the wanted list in many regions. When he is hired to bring a woman back to life for her family's final goodbyes, Celia insists that she has been murdered, and she and a reluctant Ward run away to the sewers. 

This is only the start of their ordeal. Now, they must avoid Celia's father's men, the local authorities, the places where Ward is wanted, and hope that Celia doesn't drop dead again in the streets. While trying to solve the mystery surrounding Celia's murder, neither she nor Ward are sure who they can trust, and they have to be wary of everyone, even each other. 

Necromancy is such an interesting topic. I've always been drawn to stories about necromancy, raising the dead, and magic, but it seems that there are few books that actually specifically feature a necromancer as a main character. One could then imagine my delight as I stumbled across this title featured on NetGalley, and my excitement when my request was approved by the publisher. 

This book had me hooked from the beginning. The action starts almost right away, as soon as Celia wakes up. Throughout the rest of the book, the action never ceased, the characters always had to face an enemy or a threat, and once I got into the story, it took a lot of effort to stop reading. Furthermore, the world that this is set within is captivating. I thought I'd get a fantasy set in the modern, contemporary world. Instead, it was set in a sort of alternative, fantasy world, where things like surgery are illegal and necromancers are a normal part of life. This made for a great world to escape to and lose myself in. The world-building was phenomenal, from the government itself all the way to the world of criminals. 

Ward is such a great character to read about. He's quite funny, often clumsy or partially clueless, and he has his own unique charm. While I don't mind a flawless hero every now and then, to have an imperfect hero like Ward, quirks and all, was very refreshing. I immediately liked Ward and hoped that all would end well for him, which just fueled my need to read and kept me reading until my eyes were tired. 

The other main character is Celia. Technically dead, she is a master manipulator, an assassin, and overall somebody you do not want to mess with. While she may be dead, she doesn't lose herself or sight of her goal: to find out who killed her. She was a complete daredevil, in my opinion. At times, she appeared reckless, but that only added to her character. She and Ward were fairly opposite each other, with Ward more timid and unsure, and Celia courageous and determined. This made for some amusing dialogue and situations, which added much-appreciated humor to this story of death and magic. 

The main issue that I had with this story was the attraction or romance between Celia and Ward. While there isn't a full-blown romance within this book, there are many references to the characters feeling attraction to each other, at the very least. These things certainly can be weaved well into an action-packed fantasy such as this one, but the author didn't balance their attraction to each other with the main issue within the story. I would think, for example, that Ward would not be considering Celia in a romantic or sensual way, as he often did, while they were in such a dire situation. It seemed out of place and somewhat forced. I think that it would have been better if the author had toned down the romantic aspects within this book and saved it for the next in the series. 

All in all, this tale of a charming, somewhat awkward necromancer and the lady that he has brought back from the dead is one that I enjoyed reading. While the romantic bits seemed a bit out of place for the situation at hand, the world-building was amazing and the action kept me turning pages for hours on end. 

I recommend this novel to fans of stories filled with magic and action. If you're interested in a new adult / mature young adult book about necromancy, or a change from the usual vampires and werewolves of the paranormal and fantasy genres, this book is for you.

Find Ward Against Death on Goodreads

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I know that it's technically New Years Eve right now but I really wanted to get this post up.

Do you have any New Years resolutions or goals? I have a few.

- Exercise more! There's a nice park near my house with a path lined with trees. I need to get more fresh air.

- Finish the first draft of my novel. I've been working on it for a long time and I keep abandoning it, but I really want to get it done.

- Read more! In 2016 there was a period of time when I didn't read as much because I got Netflix. This year, I won't let Netflix get in the way of my reading time.

- Go to university. I am applying to university with hopes of being accepted for the 2017 autumn semester.

That's about it for my goals and resolutions for 2017.

My Goodreads reading challenge this year was to read 40 books. I achieved my goal, and as of right now I have actually read 53 books! According to Goodreads, I read 16,770 pages worth of books! That is currently my record. Maybe in 2017, I can reach 20,000 pages. I think my reading challenge goal for 2017 will be 50 books.

What was your reading challenge goal? Did you complete it? How many books do you want to read in 2017? Do you have any New Years resolutions or goals?