Book Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa (YA)

Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Iron Fey #2
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: August 1st 2010
My Rating:3.5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

WARNING!! SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The second book of The Iron Fey series started well. Meghan is taken to the winter court by the boy she loves and then he leaves without even a parting word. As any other normal girl, she's angry and hurt. I think she needed to get to the winter fey's court, because I really believe she needs to toughen up. She spends some time at the court, without any true friends or allies, and then Ash comes back. At this point I'm expecting her to do something about that when she first sees him after being left all alone to protect herself from the bad fey people. Well, okay, maybe not the first time, because she wasn't exactly herself. But the second time. I felt that her reaction was too mild. And while I understand his reasons for leaving, I wanted her to show how angry and betrayed she felt. I don't know how, scream, hit something, curse, break things,  anything. But no. She cries.

Anyway, after they escape the winter court, they reunite with Puck and all is well for a while. Puck!! While I have to be honest and say that I am on Team Ash, I was glad to see Puck. He manages to make you laugh in the most weird, terrible moments, when all you want to do is sit in a small, dark cave and weep. He has his secrets, like any other person, but he's a good character.

Here's where things didn't work out for me anymore. Remember when I told you that the first book ended too fast, too soon, way too easy? The same thing happened with this book. I won't get into details, because I can't without giving some spoilers, but there was an incident with Ash that was dealt with in a matter of only a few chapters and because of that, I didn't feel as though it was as tragic or dramatic as it appeared to be.

I'm honestly waiting for the wow element to kick in, for me to be swept away by this series. Maybe next book?

Obsessed With Covers #3

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

*all links and covers go to the Goodreads page of each book.

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.






I can't tell you how much I adore this cover. It's just gorgeous! Her hair is amazing and the way her dress blends with the background is beautiful and, at the same time, a little creepy, because it makes you think she only has a head, with no body. It's just amazing.







The Fairest of Them All - Carolyn Turgeon











I loved the previous cover, I love this one too. Yes, it's for the pretty dress. The thing I like though is that it's a simple dress. Oh sure, it's puffy or whatever, but the colors are tame, or so I see them. I'm used to pretty dresses in flashy colors on the covers and these are really, really tame.







A Darkness Strange and Lovely - Susan Dennard

This is a very, very creepy cover. The colors are amazing, but scary. The clouds make me think not only of an impending storm, but of something dangerous and mysterious going on.  And the girl (with no hands, or I don't see them) dressed in leaves that are blown away by the wind...that is the most amazing thing on this cover. And it also sort of contradicts the title, because the cover doesn't make me think of something quiet. Not even a little bit.





Some Quiet Place - Kelsey Sutton


What pretty covers did you admire this week?

Sunday Book Soundtrack #7: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Sunday Book Soundtrack is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books, where I share some of my bookish soundtracks. Since I discovered my passion for reading years ago, I've discovered that more and more of the songs I loved remind me of certain books. So I thought I'd share my playlists with you. If you want to listen to the songs, I'll post a link to a Youtube videos for each and every title. No copyright infringement intended! I'll try to find the official videos for each song. There's no set number for each playlist, sometimes I might have 10, sometimes 5, sometimes if I'm one of my moods I'll have 15. If you want to read more about this feature, click the "show more" button below. 

I read with music. If there's no music, I can't read. And not just read, but almost anything, like studying of cooking or doing chores around the house. The only time I don't have music is when I sleep. And during exams, but that's a different story.

Sometimes it happens that a certain song and a book or a scene from the book I'm reading sort of... click. It's like they were made for each other. At least for me. And so I will almost always think of that particular book when hearing that song. I thought I'd share my book soundtracks with you.

Keep in mind that I have a very... weird taste in music. You'll find mostly rock music, country or the 80s-early 90s music in these lists. I might use some "contemporary" songs from now and then, but don't bet on it being something other than those particular genres. Also, not always the songs will be in English. If I have a link to a translation for the lyrics, I'll post it. If you like a song I'm using, that's fine. If not, that's fine too, just don't say I didn't warn you.

The songs aren't always on a book's playlist for their lyrics. Sometimes they're there for an instrument or for a feeling I get when hearing them. Also, I won't always mention what scene I used them for. If it's not a spoiler, I'll share the scene, if it is a spoiler, I'll let you guess.

Anyway, I hope you like my playlists :)

This week's book soundtrack is Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (read my review here)

1. Eagles - Doolin Dalton
2. Hoobastank - The Reason - I believe Rose and Dimitri found their "reasons" in each other.
3. Shinedown - Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide - For Rose and Christian in a certain scene where I believe they were an amazing team
4. Poets of the Fall - Locking up the Sun - Can't really say much, because it would be a major spoiler. I'll just say ghost and that's that. Read the book if you want to know more :P
5. Prince - Purple Rain
6. Lenny Kravitz - I'll be waiting - Adrian. If you've read the book, you should know what scene I'm talking about.
7. Chris Rea - Road to Hell - When Rose leaves school to search for Dimitri. I think it's the best way to describe that scene.

Know Me Better #1

Know Me Better is a Weekly Meme hosted by I'm A Reader, Not A Writer. Each week she'll pick 5 questions off of her author's interview list to answer and invites us to join in on the fun, giving a way for our readers to get to know us better.

I invite you to share your answers to these questions as well. You can share them as a comment on this post or share them on your own blog and link up to this post.

1. Where is your favorite spot to read? 
If I have to pick a spot I'd say in my bed. I like to be comfortable when I read, and my soft bed and fluffy blanket and my numerous pillows get me in the mood to read, so to speak.

2. Are you a fast or slow reader? (you can test your reading speed here) 
Well, it depends on what I'm reading. Sometimes, a book makes me want to read each and every word and take my time with it. Other books don't make me want to do that and I sort of skip a few rows or so. But if it's non-fiction (mostly text books) then I'm as slow as a snail.

3. Fanfition - Love it or Hate it? Have your ever read/written it? 
I have read it. Never wrote it. I much rather read original stories than fanfics, though I have to admit that some of them are quite good.

4. Summer or Winter? 
This one's tricky. I love summer, but the excessive heat drives me crazy and I get sick sometimes (think a powerful hangover, that's what too much heat will make me feel like). I'd choose something in between.

5. Truth or Dare?
I always choose truth. What can I say, I'm a wuss *blushes*

Your turn now! Share your answers either in the comments or the link to your post.

12 Days of 2012: Day 7 Best Book Kisses

BEST BOOK KISSES

I'm a sucker for a good kiss scene. Books, movies, music videos, it doesn't matter. There are good kisses, and then there are those kisses that make you shiver and you need to grab a fan, cause you feel you don't have enough air. Here are 8 of the best kisses I've read about in 2012 (Might contain SPOILERS if you haven't read the books!!Highlight the colored lines (sorry to those who've already read the post yesterday, I just figured out the easiest way to do it *is ashamed*)):

• Sydney & Adrian - The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

I was waiting for that scene. What I didn't like was the way Sydney reacted afterwards. Yes, I know the whys of it, I just think that Adrian deserved better. Or maybe a better way to be refused.

• Anna & Kai - Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

They kissed a few times in the book, but my favorite has to be the "pinkie scene". It was so unexpected and passionate, yet pure and innocent all at once. Also, the scene after broke my heart a little

• Jaime & Jeremy - No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong

*ahem* I loved all kisses between these two *blush*

• Mana & Vaughn - A Feast of Souls by Hailey Edwards

Same as before. Though the one that stands out at this moment is the kiss they share while they're in the spiritlands. The entire scene is so sweet and perfect.

•  Lissa & Christian - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Their first kiss was so hot. Also, she reacted a lot better in my book than Sydney did when Adrian kissed her. *swoon*

• Dimitri & Rose - Frostbite by Richelle Mead

The one where they're both in the gym and she was mad at her mom and Dimitri pissed her off and she kissed him. It was cool to see Dimitri loose control like that.

• Limos & Arik - Immortal Rider by Larissa Ione

Their very first kiss and it cursed him. It was kind of funny at first. The idea, not the fact that he was tortured and stuff. But anyway, the kiss was very nice :D

•  Elena & Clay - Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

When they see each other again, right after Elena escapes. The full scene is great, not just the kiss.

These are some of the kissing scenes that stuck with me. There are more, but it would mean to list all the books I read in 2012 (plus the rereads, because the kisses in the rereads, no matter the numbers I've read those books, are always good). What kisses did you like best in the books you read last year?

Book Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Author: Richelle Mead
Series:Vampire Academy #3
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: November 13th 2008
My Rating:4.5 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She's having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all... might be seeing ghosts.

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose's forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line - and choose between the two people she loves most.

Attention: Some Spoilers if you haven't read the previous books!!

I know I'm getting ahead of myself just a little, but I need to say this. This book made me cry. A lot. I know a lot of readers said that they were expecting this book to end the way it did and that they weren't surprised by it, but I really didn't see it coming.

One of the things that I loved in this book is that we see Christian show us that the Moroi can actually do something other than hide and be the perfect targets for the evil vampires. And that scene with him and Rose  was great.

Another thing that I loved is that we get to see the guardians fight. It really shows what they can do and why they're good at being bodyguards.

We also get more Adrian silliness and that's always good. Even though I'm not on Adrian's team in this series, I do believe he's a good character. I feel like he has a lot of growing up to do, but I do appreciate the way he comes and makes certain really tense scenes become funny or easier to read.

The only reason I can't give this book a full 5 cups rating is because of one little scene that I've waited ever since Dimitri admitted that he had feelings for Rose, in Frostbite. If you've read the book, you know that I'm talking about the cabin scene. I just felt that the scene where Rose and Dimitri are cursed back in the first book was way hotter and sexier than this one. Also, Lissa and Christian's scenes (I think we get only two? maybe three?) are sexier than this famous cabin scene. I know it's a YA series and therefore you can't expect the same amount of hotness as in an adult book, but I feel like it could have been better.

Like I said before, I cried at the ending. I jumped right into the next one because I didn't want to believe that that was it. I think it's been a while since a book in a series made me want to go ahead and read the next one so soon and so fast. It's good when that happens.

Again, I'll tell you what I've told you before: if you haven't read the series, don't wait, go ahead and read it. It is amazing.