Silence

I apologize for my silence here on Confessions of a Teenage Bibliophile. It's nearing the end of the school year, and while I may not have many difficult classes, among the homework, ends of big projects, state tests, finals, and all that lovely end of school jazz that's coming up, I'll be a very busy person. That's a flimsy excuse and I know it but this blog'll be silent for a bit longer. I'm not a very good multitasker and my head's already exploding from stress. I'm still reading, but since it takes at least an hour for me to write a review, I'll have to give that time up in favor for homework or doing something that'll calm me down.

Sorry for my absence and sorry that I'll be gone a bit longer. As soon as summer comes around, I'll get this blog up and running again. I hope you'll forgive me! I'll try to pop in every now and then with some reviews or book talk but I can't make any promises.

Wish me luck!

~Julie

Waiting on Wednesday (6)

A weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Crewel by Gennifer Albin
Publication Date: October 16th, 2012

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.


I've never liked fantasy very much, which is funny because what got me started with reading was actually a fantasy book. Maybe I should reword that. I dislike high fantasy. On the other hand, I just adore fantasy books. Crewel sounds amazing. I love reading about characters who know they're special but decide to hide it because it's an active decision. There are too many books where the character is clueless and has to learn their way through everything. Which is totally fine and all, but there's just something special about choosing to do something. The blurb above mentions academies and becoming a Spinster. Even the word Spinster sounds scary in this context. 


I can't wait to read this book! October can't come fast enough.

Review: A Touch Mortal

Eden didn't expect Az. 

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings. 

Yeah. 

So long happily-ever-after. 

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven. 

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own. 

And that's only the beginning of the end. 
Sumary from (Goodreads)


Review: One summer day, Eden sits on a beach, contemplating suicide. Apparently, her family and friends have seemed to have forgotten about her. While she decides what she wants to do, two mysterious strangers approach Eden. One of them, Az, flirts with her. She tells him to f**k off. They have an insta!love worthy of Shakespeare. But wait! There's more.


Their love for the first few chapters was lovely. It progressed a little too fast for my tastes, but it's a YA book and things tend to turn out that way. Plus, Eden was contemplating suicide for goodness sake. Her relationship with Az makes the thoughts go away and in that fragile mental state, she probably clung to her only sense of happiness. So of course she's going to be in love with Az. He made her happy when everything sucked enough for her to want to end it. It's not a healthy relationship by any means, but things neutralized until it seemed like a cute, normal relationship. (Or normal enough for a paranormal YA romance) Then around chapter three or four-ish, (forgive me for not being exact. I had to return A Touch Mortal to the library so I don't have a reference) there was a huge time skip that left me in the dust. Since the love between Az and Eden was a huge plot point for this book, it should've been believable, right?


Nope. Their relationship started out really great but then the author skipped the budding relationship and jumped straight into the "I love yous". Which, of course, just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Their relationship for the rest of the book seemed forced and unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, they did have their semi-cute moments, but most of those were just in flashbacks. Don't tell me they love each other. Show me they love each other. I want to see how like turned into love. Or even hate turned into love. Pics or it didn't happen.


And the time skip I mentioned regarding to Az and Eden's relationship? Well, that wasn't the only time skip. I missed the integration period Eden had with her life so between two chapters, Eden went from totally confused to using terms like "Sider", "Screamer", "Upstairs", and "The Basement" with no explanation whatsoever. It wasn't too difficult for me to deduce what the words meant, but their casual usage was like some kind of shock treatment. It's like turning around, only to see a scary looking (but friendly) ax murderer chopping onions in your kitchen. But then it turns out the supposed ax murderer is really just your uncle John who hasn't showered for two days and that ax is just a really, really big knife.


Sometimes it felt like there were too many characters to keep track of. I'm not sure if it's because I'm an idiot or because the introductions were dull, but it took me forever to realize what I'm sure the author meant to be obvious. Many times, when I felt like I had a good grip on who was who, a handful of new characters would pop up and I'd be confused all over again.


Personally, I liked Eden a lot as a character. She pissed me off a lot, but she grew on me. Sort of like mold. I really admire her strength and refusal to stop...doing a certain thing even if it hurt her because she felt like the people needed her. She wanted to give them something that none of them ever got. It was wonderful, really. What I didn't like about her character was her rudeness toward other characters. Mainly, Adam, another "Sider" whom she shares an apartment with. He liked her. (Sorry for spoiling that tiny, obvious detail) She treated him like dirt half the time. I get that her awful attitude came from having too much Touch (sorry if you don't understand what that means) but she could've just...she could've been nicer.


If you guys don't know, Siders are all people who've committed suicide. I didn't know the book had anything to do with suicide when I picked it up. If I did, I probably wouldn't have read it. I'm not religious by any means, and I know this is a personal thing, but I couldn't stand how the author wrote about suicide. It's one thing to have a suicidal character because people really are suicidal. It's sad and horrible but it's real. I have nothing against writing about the unknown. The afterlife and death are okay things for me to read about. So is Heaven and Hell and angels and demons. But for some reason, I just couldn't stand how the author described what happened after suicide in her book. I know it's a personal bias for me and that I shouldn't be writing about it in a review, but hey, I'm not a very professional reviewer. Sorry about that. People have to understand that suicide is the end. I, like every other human being, do not know what happens after death. But it's a safe bet to say that you don't get to stay here afterwards. 


Sorry for the rant. :/ Suicide is just a touchy subject.


Overall, it was an okay book. When I was finally able to get over the suicide thing and the weird pacing, I was able to enjoy it. There was a lot of tension and great action. :D The majority of the side character had little to no depth in them, but I was content enough with the development in my friend Gabriel. There's a sequel to A Touch Mortal called A Touch Morbid that's not yet released but I don't think I'll be picking it up. My irritation just overcomes my curiosity to see what happens.


Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Cover Reveal: Greta and the Goblin King

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: November 13, 2012

While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon.

To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape.

But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…

Pre-order it from Barnes and Noble
Add it to your Goodreads shelf~


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About the Author

Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Jacobs_Chloe

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChloeJacobsAuthor

Website: http://www.chloejacobs.com

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Guys, I love this cover. I really do. The covers from Entangled Publishing seem to be improving with every new book and Greta and the Goblin King is no different. The girl (who I assume to be Greta) has a dead animal around her neck, a sword in hand, and looks like she could take on anything. Look at her expression. Now back at me. Now look at her expression. Doesn't it just scream, "I'm badass and I could take on anything." or in internet terms, "Come at me bro."? Yes, I think it does. 

The idea sounds really interesting. Lots of fantasy. Lots of (or at least enough) romance. Plus, she's a bounty hunter. Bounty hunters rock. Don't you remember watching those funny looking bounty hunters in the Star Wars movies and wishing you could be just like them? (No? It's just me? Fine, then.) When the romance in a story has the equation of bounty hunter + king, you know it's a must read. I can't believe it's coming out in November. 

The wait will be torture. D:

Cover Wars! U.S. vs. U.K.

They say (whoever "they" are) that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The sad thing is that we knew that we all do judge a book by its cover. But I reassure myself by saying that the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" thing is supposed to apply to people, not books. "They" just wanted to sound smart and witty by making it into a metaphorical command.

Today we'll compare a YA book cover from the U.S. and the same book with a different U.K. cover.

I'll tell you guys which cover I like better and why. Then you guys can tell me which cover you like better. :)

U.S. covers are on the left and U.K. covers are on the right. Okay, here we go!

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Personally, I like the U.K. cover better. I like how the birds and field covey a sense of freedom. The U.S. version bugs me. It's a strange angle for a face shot, huh? (I just finished this book. Email me if you've read it. We must talk!)

Abandon by Meg Cabot

I honestly cannot choose a favorite out of these two. Both are just so lovely and gorgeous. This one's a tie. :/ I hope you guys can pick a favorite!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

This one was a tough choice for me. I wound up going with the U.S. cover because of the post-apocoliptic vide the cover gave. The U.K. cover is super intense but I liked the crumbly/dying feeling the U.S. cover has.           

So what do you guys think? Which cover was your favorite?  

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

A weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay
Publication Date: October 9th, 2012


All will be revealed for fans who have breathlessly awaited the sizzling sequel to Juliet Immortal. This time Romeo takes center stage and gets one chance, and one chance only, to redeem himself. 

Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.


(Summary from Goodreads)

Oh my God, guys, I love Juliet Immortal so much! The funny this is that I probably wouldn't have read it if one of my friends didn't lend it to me. But now it's one of my all time favorite books, particularly because it gave a more tortured and paranormal spin on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo Redeemed is the sequel to Juliet Immortal and it's supposed to pick up where the first book dropped off. I love Romeo so much. I've told you guys before that I have a thing for broken characters. This version of Romeo is SO SO SO tortured and SO SO SO broken that I can't help but love him. Plus, look at that cover. Isn't it just lovely? Prettiest cover in the world.