Review: My Soul To Keep by Rachel Vincent (SSRC)

Well, I'm running really late on this because my library's only copy of My Soul to Keep was checked out until yesterday, but luckily I'm a fast reader and finished today!

I reread MSTK for the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge being hosted by Fiktshun! It's super awesome and super fun, and if you haven't joined yet you most definitely should!!

My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent
Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.

Until something does.

Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked.

And so is someone else…

------

At the beginning of MSTK, Kaylee is finally free of the grounding she received for all the crazy stuff that went down in the last book. But she hasn't been free very long before she discovers the Netherworld is still leaking into the human work and threatening the lives of everyone she knows.

Of course, Kaylee being Kaylee, she can't possibly take that lying down, or leave it up to those older and stronger than her. Kay always wants to protect others, which is what simultaneously makes her one of the stupidest and most admirable heroines around these days.

When she discovers humans are getting addicted to Demon's Breath (remember that nasty crap from the last book?) she knows she has to stop it. And THAT is when things start to go downhill again.


Ok, so, like the last few months, I'll finish up by talking about character development! This stuff will be spoilery! Read at your own risk!

************** ************** ************** **************

So first we have Kaylee. As I mentioned above, in MSTK she's still just as selfless and brave as she was in the first two books. But she's also becoming more realistic, and realizing that she can't save everyone. But at the same time, this knowledge only makes her more determined to save those she can. She can accept that there's nothing more she can do for Addison, but she wants to save others from that same fate.

Then there's Nash. Anyone who's already read all the books knows that this is the one where the Nash-hate really starts. Nash has made PLENTY of mistakes. And while some of them are understandable, that's never been enough for me to really love him past the second book. Yes, going back to the first book, I loved him again and remembered why I had loved him before, but reaching this book, those feelings are gone again. Which really is tragic, because he was such an awesome guy. And now he's acting like a total butthead.

Emma. Kaylee's best friend has to go through a lot again in this book. Yet she stays strong, and doesn't abandon Kay. I think that's really all that has to be said about her character.

Sophie. Oh, man, Sophie's so obnoxious. Yet as I've said before, I can't bring myself to hate her. I've said it six zillion times, she's just so CLUELESS. But in this book, you start to see behind the mask, that behind her Ice Queen appearance she's still capable of being hurt.

Alec. He only makes a brief appearance in MSTK, but there's something interesting about him, isn't there? Of course, I've already read past this book, but even the first time I was intrigued by him.

Addison. She's only briefly in this one, but she was brave and selfless, too. She gave up the only good thing left in her existence to help Kaylee and Tod and Nash, which is pretty incredible.

And I've saved the best for last: TOD. Oh, Tod! I love that guy so much there aren't even words to express it. And just like last time, he's even better in this book. He's still grieving Addy, but at the same time he's finally recovering. This is the book where we really start to see that he'll be there for Kay when she needs him. In the first book, Tod was pretty much...well...dead. He wasn't very human anymore. In the second book, he's getting better, and Addy being in danger really jump started that, but really it's Kaylee who's bringing him back. He's alive again, and a sarcastic and obnoxious and awesome. But more than that, he's loyal, and protective, and GOOD. And also, I love him. But that's mostly irrelevant.

************** ************** ************** **************

Altogether, I looooved it (again!) and it gets <*><*><*><*><*>

(:D)
~Mag

Review: Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

So, this is long overdue (I read Incarnate like forever ago [okay, it was like nine days ago, but it feels like longer and that's still a long time to wait to write a review, for me]), but here it is: my review of the awesome and fabulous Incarnate!

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

New soul
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
No soul
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Heart
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

------

I mentioned a while ago that I've been wanting to read Incarnate ever since I first heard about it. So, when I saw it sitting on the shelf at the library, I snatched it up and started reading it ASAP! Of course, when you look forward to book so much, there's always the risk that you won't like it as much as you hoped. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH INCARNATE. Seriously, it was definitely worth all the excitement.

I can think of several reincarnation books/series of the top of my head, but when I compare them to Incarnate, I realize again how unique it is! A major part of most reincarnation stories is the discovery that the MC and/or someone else has been reincarnated. In Incarnate, everyone knows about reincarnation and has all their memories of past lives. A million souls are reincarnated again and again. It's the way their world works, which is SO COOL!

Now, moving onto the plot. Several times have I seen the wonderful Ally Carter explain how she comes up with ideas. Basically, she says that she takes a scenario, and decides what the worst possible thing that could happen is. What's the worst thing that could happen in a place as nearly-perfect as Range?

A soul disappears and is replaced by something...else.

Of course, being inside Ana's head, we don't see her as something evil. We see the poor girl who just wants to be loved and accepted. Yet at the same time, even Ana sometimes believes herself to be a nosoul. But despite this, Ana is fantastic heroine and it's awesome to be along for the ride as she struggles to find out who she is and where she came from.

But as awesome as Ana is, this book has even more to love!

First off, there's Sam. I love a lot of YA boys, but Sam is defintely one of the best! He's nice and sweet and protective of Ana, and besides that, an excellent musician! I really loved all the music in Incarnate. Not only do I love music in general, the way it affected Ana and the way she felt about it was beautiful.

Then there were some of the other characters, like Stef, who just ROCKED as well! All of the characters were interesting, both the ones you love and the ones you hate.

I think one of the things I found most interesting about Incarnate was the unisex reincarnation. You never know if you're going to come back as a boy or girl, which I thought was both cool and weird. Cool, because, well, cool. Weird, because...WEIRD. Like when Ana was wearing a dress that had been Sam's in a past life and started thinking about how it must have fit Sam better, and of course all I could picture was Sam as a boy wearing the dress.

I also realized partway through the book that pretty much all of the names were unisex as well, so everyone could keep their names whether they were a boy or a girl. Li, Sam, Stef...see what I mean? There were actually points in the book when someone was mentioned for the first time and I thought, "Hm, I wonder if that's a boy or a girl?" which I later realized might have been the point.

Anyway, Incarnate has so much to love that if I keep going much longer I'll just keep going until I've dissected the entire book, and there would be many spoilers and too much time spent writing this post, and I'd probably still be writing it next week, so I'm going to go ahead and stop here.

I think my point is that Incarnate absolutely, positively gets <*><*><*><*><*>

(:D)
~Mag

Waiting on Wednesday: Outpost by Ann Aguirre

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. Today, my pick under the category "Eeek, yay, a sequel that I am DYING to read" is the sequel to Enclave by Ann Aguirre: Outpost.

Deuce’s whole world has changed. Now living topside in a community called Salvation, she has a whole new set of problems. Down below, she was considered an adult, and she contributed to the whole. Now, topside, the people of Salvation think she’s a brat in need of training. She hates school, and she doesn’t fit in with the other girls. They’ve spent their lives learning to cook and sew–suitable woman’s work. Deuce only knows how to fight. To make matters worse, Fade keeps her at a distance, and the band of four has broken into fragments.

Stalker presses for a closer relationship, but Deuce sees him as a training partner, and she’s busy trying to find her place in Salvation. She refuses to accept that she’s wrong for being who she is, but tensions rise as she struggles against the status quo. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Once she’s free from school for the year, Deuce pursues a chance to serve in the summer patrols–those responsible for making sure the growers and planters can work the fields without danger of Freak attack. It should have been routine, little fighting, but things have been changing on surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks are smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it will take a girl like Deuce to turn the tide.

OMGosh! Okay, I totally loved Enclave. Seriously. It was fantastic. It's definitely one of my favorite dystopians. One thing I'm really hoping for is more FadexDeuce! I looove Fade, and despite the synopsis I think there will definitely be some romance in this one! ;)


I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next in this awesome world!!!


So what are YOU waiting on this week?


(:D)
~Mag

Teaser Tuesday: SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready

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!

I finished re-reading SHADE today (I decided I wanted to re-read both SHADE and SHIFT before SHINE comes out May 1st), but since I haven't started another book yet, teasers from SHADE it is!!

1.
     She pressed on the hook to keep me from dialing. "What are you going to tell him?" she asked in a serious tone.
     "The truth." 

-Page 247 

2.
     "What did he do to you?" Zachary demanded. 

-Page 247

Seriously, you guys, if you haven't read this series before, you REALLY should. Because they ROCK!! SHINE comes out May 1st! Grab the countdown widget -->


#TeamKilt


(:D)
~Mag

I Made Some Pretty Easter Eggs

So, as you likely know, yesterday was Easter. Because of this, my family and I painted eggs! (Well, not painted. Dyed, I guess. But painted sounds better.)

Being the nerd I am, I made some nerdy ones, and decided to share them with you.

The first one, when I had no good ideas, was a tribute to my blog :)

And the other side of it? A BOOK!

My terribly done egg with the symbol of the Clave (Mortal Instruments, Infernal Devices. You know, Shadowhunters!):

On the other side is the initials for The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and the future The Dark Artifices :)

I don't know how well you can see it, but this one features the Triforce from the Legend of Zelda. Yeah. 

And finally: My favorite egg. I didn't do this one, but I asked my brother to draw it, as he is a far superior artist to me and I wanted it to look good. I showed him a picture, and he was able to recreate for me the Dauntless faction's symbol from Divergent!!

How awesome is that?


I also made one that had a bunch of series' titles written all over it, but that one came out so horribly there shall be no pictures. (In my defense, however, it is very hard to see what you're writing with a white crayon on a WHITE EGG, so it makes SENSE that the words "Soul Screamers" would mix with "TID". And that my handwriting would be terrible.)


So, did you decorate any eggs? Get any pictures? I'd love to see them!!


(:D)
~Mag

Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Okay, I've been dying to read this book absolutely FOOOOOREVER, and my library just got it the other day. So, naturally, I snatched it off the shelf and read it!!

Click to go to the Goodreads page!!

Everneath by Brodi Ashton 

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.
She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. 

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen. 

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's... 

------

First off, I'd like to say this book is SO AWESOME!! From the unique twists on Greek myths to the super cool idea of the Everneath to the romance, this book is simply fantastic.


In a moment of hurt, Nikki made the choice to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of relief from her pain. She went down into the Everneath with Cole, to be drained for a century in order to give him life. But neither of them expected her to survive. Neither of them expected her to remember anything of her former life.


But she did. And she was determined to Return to the Surface and find the boy whose face linked her to her former life.


Jack.


Nikki only has six months on the surface before she'll be forced to return to the Everneath, to serve as a sort of battery for the rest of her existence. I loved that the beginning of every chapter showed exactly how much time Nikki had before she had to leave. It helped mark the passage of time and show exactly what was at stake as Nikki's story progressed. I also loved the flashes between the time before the Feed. They helped show exactly what drove Nikki to make the choice she did.


Really, there was so much to love about this book. All of the characters were real and fun, even the "smaller" ones like Will and Ms. Stone, etc. But really, no characters in this book were small. They all played important parts, and I loved that. 


Okay, so, onto the romance. There's kind of a love triangle going on. On one hand, Nikki wishes she could reconnect with Jack, even though she knows she shouldn't, for his sake, and on the other hand is Cole, waiting for the return he thinks is inevitable and apparently harboring some feelings for Nik.


It took me a while to come to a decision as to who Nikki should be with, but by the end I was very thoroughly and completely Team...


[This next bit is kinda spoilery, so please only highlight if you've read Everneath or don't care about spoilers!!]


Jack. I was torn for a bit, but eventually came to the conclusion that Jack was super awesome, loyal, sweet, and hot. He never gave up on Nikki, and never would do anything to hurt her. I noticed that Cole did have genuine feelings for her, but I don't think it was enough to make him worth it, in the end. Not when her and Jack are so PERFECT for each other. And that thing that happened at the end (Yeah, I'm still being cautious in case someone disregarded my instructions and highlighted without reading Everneath. Anyway, you know what I mean if you've read it!)? </3 Yeah, I love Jack.


But yeah, this book rocked. And that ENDING! Not EXACTLY a "cliffhanger," but still a...cliffhanger. It's the sort of ending that makes you freak out and wait desperately for the next book. That's exactly what this endning is! I'm dying here. 


Also:


JAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!


Everneath TOTALLY gets <*><*><*><*><*>


(:D)
~Mag

Kilt and Keeley: SHINE Preorder Giveaway!!

Okay, first off: Do you love the SHADE series by Jeri Smith-Ready? 


Yeah, stupid question, right? Of course you do!!


Well, the fabulous folks over at Kilt and Keeley are hosting a giveaway to help encourage people to preorder the third (and final!) book in the series, SHINE!


They're putting together an awesome prize pack of swag and various SHADE-related items. All YOU have to do is preorder SHINE and send them a copy of your receipt or proof of purchase! All the details are on their blog, HERE!


If just the chance of an awesome prize isn't good enough incentive for you, how about the fact that EVERYONE who enters gets an exclusive ZOGAN trading card!!

Awesome, right?


And finally, the best part is that the more people that preorder SHINE, the bigger the prize pack gets! So go, now! Preorder!!


Don't forget, all the details for entering are HERE!


So go check it out, and PREORDER SHINE!!


(:D)
~Mag