Thursday, January 7, 2016

Book Review: Shadows by Paula Weston

Author: Paula Weston
Series: The Rephaim #1
Publisher: Orion Children's
Release Date: January 3rd 2013
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
It's almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares.

*Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Hachette Children's Group in exchange for an honest review.

Shadows was one of those books that everyone around me seemed to read and enjoy, so I will admit that I was a bit nervous when I decided to read this book. I am glad I did it though, because I ended up liking it a lot.

Gaby is one of those characters that is full of surprises. I felt very sad for her and for her twin brother. She is a loyal friend and I liked how she was willing to do anything to protect her best friend. What was interesting about her character is how the author managed to make Gaby seem different than the person that Rafa and his friends tell her she was in the past. It was almost like reading about two different characters and that was something that I enjoyed a lot.

Rafa is a difficult character to like. Actually, half the time I wanted to smack him, while the other half I wanted to hug him, because his side of the story was sad too. At times he was infuriating, other times he was a charmer. He is loyal though and I really do want to know more about him and his story.

The plot was pretty well paced, not too fast and not too slow. There were a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming, a few scenes that I did anticipate but that I enjoyed. There was a very powerful scene near the end, a scene that really made me question what is actually going on. It kind of made me question a lot of the things that Rafa knew and that were presented by different characters throughout the book. But I also loved that it showed that the Rephaim were a true family in the end, and that even though they might not agree with each other or even fight each other, they would stand united against enemies. I really loved that scene.

I liked how the book ended. It seemed fast and it came out of nowhere to be honest, but that just made me even more curious about the rest of the story. I will definitely read the rest of the series.


Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Wednesday Chatter #12: The Struggle To Write A Decent First Paragraph

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!



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Hey guys! Happy Wednesday!

Last week I was trying really hard to get some book reviews done and I noticed something. I always have a problem starting the review in a semi-intelligent way. You know, something other than "OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD" or something similar. The funny thing, though, is that not all reviews are so difficult to write, for me. Oh no, my issue is with books I've received for reviewing. This struggle led to this discussion post and I really hope I'm not the only one that has this issue.

See, here's the thing. I've always felt the pressure of a perfect beginning when reviewing books that I'm supposed to review. This probably has to do with the fact that, in school, I was told that all essays should have a strong, good beginning. That a good start will always make the readers enjoy the entire article more than they would if the first paragraph is mediocre or bad. Is it true? I have no idea. Maybe, maybe not. I don't judge an article by how it starts, unless the first paragraph is full of typing errors that are really "in-your-face". But for me there's this huge pressure to sound intelligent and somewhat professional. Like I know what I'm doing. Which, spoiler alert, isn't always the case.

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For some reason this pressure, this strange idea of mine regarding reviews and the first paragraph, only comes to me to kick me in the butt when I'm writing reviews for books I've received for review.

Do you guys have that issue? I know I need to loosen up a bit, I'm not denying that. But am I the only one really struggling with this? Also, do you have any tips? 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

2016 Book Blog Discussion Challenge Sign-Up


One of my resolutions for 2016 was to post more regularly on my blog. But for me having a blog full of reviews and the occasional meme post isn't all that enjoyable. I also love discussion posts, but I suck at writing them. Last year I saw a lot of bloggers doing the 2015 Discussion Challenge, so I decided that if the challenge will be up and running in 2016 that I'd join in on the fun. And so here I am, joining in. See, I'm also socializing more. Two resolutions in the first month of this year. I'm growing up, guys!

This challenge is hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight. To read the rules or to sign up, click on the graphic above or click here. The challenge has 5 levels:

1-12 – Discussion Dabbler
13-24 – Creative Conversationalist
25-36 – Chatty Kathy
37-48 – Terrifically Talkative
49+ – Gift of the Gab

I'm aiming for 25-36 discussion posts. I want to publish a discussion post a week, every week, but I'll be honest with you and myself and say that that might not be always possible. So I'm choosing Chatty Kathy as my desired level. If I manage to post more than 36 discussion posts, I'll feel immensely proud of myself.
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