Waiting on Wednesday: 7/17/13

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine, spotlighting books that have not yet been released but are being greatly anticipated! What are we waiting on this week? Let's find out!!

Mag is waiting on...

Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series. 

The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -­have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time trav­elers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order. 

With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does. 

But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?

Myra McEntire's Hourglass series is one of my absolute favorites. I'm so excited to see what happens next with the characters I've come to adore :D

Tor is waiting on...

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors. The first book, Raven Boys, was awesome.  So I can't wait to see what happens to Gansey, Blue, Adam, and Ronan. 

What are you waiting on this week?

Teaser Tuesday: 7/16/13

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play, and the rules are simple:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Tor's teasers:

 My teasers are from Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti. Its too early in the book to know if its good or not!

1. "So I snuck a piece. Then I got Tiger Eyes off her bookshelf because she kept telling me I had to read it. I ate another piece of chocolate while I was reading. And another." -Page 94

     2. "Attempting eye contact at lunch always involves a huge degree of risk." -Page 50 

Mag's teasers:

My current read is Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan. I have no idea why I haven't read this one sooner! I read the other two AGES ago. Really good so far! I especially enjoy Sadie's narration. I love that girl. (Maybe that's why both my teasers are from her :D)

1. He choked up. Poor boy. He really would have been lost without me.
         [Ouch, Carter! Don't pinch.]
                            -pg 31 

2. Apparently I'd made a strong impression on the young man. No surprise. I am rather memorable.
         [Oh, stop laughing, Carter.]
                            -pg 97

What are you reading this week? Leave us your TT links!!

Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

I’ve wanted to read The Name of the Star for a while but it never was on the top on my reading list. When I saw at the Library, I immediately grabbed. What drew me to In the Name of the Star was that it had my two favorite things- London and mystery. But I have to say, I am slightly disappointed by it.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Released September 29, 2011
Source of my copy:  The Library 

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

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities. (Synopsis from goodreads.com)

 ------

It took me awhile to read The Name of the Star. Not because it was long but because the beginning was so slow. The first half of the book was all about how Rory is now in England and explaining British culture. While I did like learning new things about the British culture, I quickly grew bored of it. I remember thinking, “Yes, I understand. We are in London! Not America! Can we please move on?”

I did like how Maureen explained Jack the Ripper. You can tell that she really took her time researching the case. I especially like that she didn’t just dump all the information onto you in a single paragraph. She paces it out, revealing information only when Rory finds out for herself.

I liked Rory. I thought she was pleasant and witty. But she fell flat at times. At the end, I felt like she didn’t really do anything, that she was just there. The ‘just there’ feeling was something I got out of a lot of characters.

There is a little bit of ‘romance’ (if you even want to call it that). I felt it to be… frivolous. Like the only reason there was a love interest was for the sake of having a love interest. I felt zero chemistry between Rory and the love interest. I think the book could’ve done without it.

While The Name of the Star falls short of expectations, I do think this series has potential. It was slow start but the end has enough hook that it leaves you curious what the second book will entail. I have a feeling this will be a series you borrow, not own.

The Name of The Star gets <*><*><*>

Happy Reading,

Tor

Mag's Stacking the Shelves - 7/14/13

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature hosted over at Tynga's Reviews, where booklovers can share whatever awesome new reads they got in the week, whether purchased, borrowed, or gifted!

This week, I was able to go both to the library AND the bookstore, so I got lots of awesome new books that I'm really excited about!

FROM THE LIBRARY

-A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray: I've gotten this from the library before, but I've never actually started reading it. It looks good!

-Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell: Another one that looks really cool!

-The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: I've seen this one absolutely EVERYWHERE, and I'm really excited to start it!

FROM THE BOOKSTORE: 

-The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour: Travel, bands, friendship love...looks perfect!

-The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson: I'm really really excited about this one. It looks awesome!!

-Dalek boomark!!! I love it.

What new books/bookish stuff did you get this week? Leave me a link in the comments!!

(:D)

~Mag

An Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Tor and I will be a reviewer on Geek Chic Books! I am so excited to start posting my reviews and working with the ever so awesome Mag!

A Little About Myself-
My love of reading started at very young age. I've always preferred reading over everything else. My parents had to keep checking on me every night to make sure I was sleeping and not reading. I try to read every day no matter how hectic or busy my schedule is. I also enjoy editing pictures and playing clarinet.

Come check me out on Twitter, Goodreads, or send me an email at justabookishgirl@gmail.com

I am so happy to be joining Geek Chic Books!

Keep Reading,
Tor

We're Back (and better than ever!)

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I've showed my face around here, I know, which is why I'm so very excited to announce...

I'm BACK!!!

That's right, starting now, Geek Chic Books will be up and running again regularly. As returning friends will see, the layout and design has changed--and it's so pretty I can't stop looking at it--to give us a fresh new start with a fresh new run of the blog. As you also may be able to see from looking around the blog, there's another piece of newness here, too--this one even more exciting!

A huge welcome to my new blogging partner, Tor!!

I'm so glad to have her here with me! With both of us around, there will be much more fun stuff than I can handle by myself. And besides that, Tor is simply fantastic! Be sure to drop her a comment to say hello, and keep an eye out for her posts, coming soon! You can also say hi to her on her Goodreads and Twitter accounts, and via email at justabookishgirl@gmail.com. (Oh, and while we're on the topic of Twitter, I have a new account, so be sure to follow me there!) We're both very excited to talk about books with you guys!

On that note, I'd like to announce the tentative new schedule for Geek Chic Books:

Monday: Review from Tor

Tuesday: Teaser Tuesday

Wednesday: Waiting on Wednesday

Thursday: Review from Mag

Friday: Break day/any bonus posts

Saturday: Tor's Book Haul

Sunday: Mag's Book Haul

Finally, I'm ready to officially announce the re-opening of review requests. If you would like Tor or me to review your book, please send us an email at either mag.geekchic@yahoo.com or justabookishgirl@gmail.com. Please read the review request policy before emailing. 

And with that, I'd just like to say...

I'm so happy to be back, and happy reading!

(:D)

~Mag

Hiatus

Hey guys! So, more than likely you've figured this out (it's probably been pretty clear from the ridiculous lack of posting in...months) but I've decided to take a hiatus from Geek Chic Books.

While I loved--love--writing reviews, and talking about books, and participating in this awesome community, it began to feel like a major source of stress to be committed to posting however many times a week, and to feel guilty whenever I wanted to read a personal book over a review request, and I decided (as you may recall) to take a step back.

The step back went further than I intended. I've gotten really out of the habit of all the things I did for this blog and picked up new interests and activities (goodbye homeschooling, hello, public school--aka homework!) and this blog fell to the side of my life.

I fully intend to pick up book blogging again, hopefully soon. (Perhaps this summer?) I really hope that you guys are still hanging around when I get back :)

Thank you so much for your understanding, and happy reading!