The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Review

I have been reading recently lots of books and this one caught my eye at Comic Con back in 2010. I never had the time to pick it up so when I got the chance this week to do just that I did.

Amazon's Blurb :

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

The book is colorful with a cast of monsters, angels, wishes and war. Lots of fun hearing about all the characters brought together and the different types of things our author has dreamed up.

Our main character Karou is a blue haired young girl who grew up in a supernatural setting with a monstrous father sending her on errands to gain teeth. She is spunky. You grow to love her. When her world is threatened and she is taken away from the family she knows, she has to fight. We meet Akiva a tortured angel who is closing portals to the other world helping end a war. He meets Karou and is instantly attracted to her. The story unfolds between the two of them.

I am glad I finally picked up the book, I really enjoyed it.

4.5/5 stars.

Swapping Bookmarks

I would love to make some handmade bookmarks and swap them with other book readers who want to have some handmade bookmarks.

If you are interested let me know. I think it could be lots of fun.

GIVEAWAY - Poster for Safe Haven

Poster looks different.. but they are rolled up right now.. So yesterday I went and saw Silver Linings Playbook.. AMAZING. Go see it if you like dramas and haven't seen it. But while I was there I got a poster for Safe Haven, a new Nicholas Sparks movie that is coming out on Valentine's Day. (I saw it as a screener a few months ago and really enjoyed it.)

I really enjoyed the book for Safe Haven so I thought, this works with my book theme .. since the movie was a book first and thought I'd give away a poster.

Entering is easy.. Just leave a post on this giveaway post.

You don't have to join my blog if you don't want. But there will be more giveaways coming up.

I'm also giving away some bath and bodyworks stuff on my makeup blog.

Kitten Reviews Makeup so if that's your sort of thing. Hop on over there and join that giveaway too.

Both contests end 1/27/13

Glitches a short by Melissa Meyer

This is a fun short story that is a before the book of Cinder. I really enjoyed Cinder so when I saw this I had to pick it up.

I adore Melissa Meyer and I can't wait to read Scarlet. You can read my Cinder review on this blog. Its a great story. She really has a way of telling stories that is captivating.

Here is amazons blurb on it:

Cyborg Cinder has always been alone in the world. When she learns that she’s going to be adopted, her whole life changes – she gets an all-new family, complete with a mostly-absent father, two step-sisters and an unwelcoming stepmother. How will she cope with being the only cyborg in the family? This story is a prequel to the futuristic fairytale Cinder, by Marissa Meyer.

This story focuses on Iko. The adorable human like robot that Cinder fixes and who also becomes her friend. I really enjoyed the short story. If you liked Cinder pick this up. Or pick up the new paperback copy that comes with this story.

Stacking the Shelves #1

Decided to take a part in this meme... I'm gonna try to do more things like this.. more so that I can get more in the habit of having posts up.

This is from Tynga's Reviews on her blog she started it. It's so we can show off the things we got this week to read, review and enjoy.

I didn't get much I picked up Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter at the library.

I also picked up Delirium by Lauren Oliver for my kindle.

So it will be a good week.. hopefully soon I will get more ARC's that I can review. :)

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

I got this for my kindle the other day, because I had heard good things about Melissa Marr and it was on sale. So I thought why not? (Even though I had 12 library books and had just 25 books.. but still lol.)

Amazons blurb :

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

This book is about fighting for what you want. Our story is 2 sided about a girl in hiding that doesn't know the truth being raised by a witch. And about a fighting game that the victor comes out to get a say in government, where you can be a nobody with nothing, or someone from a good family. So our characters are all types.

We have Mallory a young girl living with a witch constantly training for the day the daimons will come to kill her. She doesn't know that the daimons are after her and not her witch father Adam. She starts to fall for a boy she meets and has no idea that he has been sent there to find her.

I really liked the story. If had twists, some I didn't even see coming. It was very enjoyable.

4/5 for sure a book to pick up.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

This book made me smile. I really love that most of the zombie books I am picking up are about the hope for humanity after a catastrophic event. If you grew up never seeing anything but the small town you live in, would you hunger for more? That's the question this book asks. If you lived and only saw a life enclosed in gates, would you want to venture out, even if that meant a chance at death or worse.

I thought the author did a great job of portraying the differences in personalities and the fact that some people are happy just accepting what is happening in their life, while other people need something more, whatever that may be.

Our main character, Mary is at the age where she has to marry, but she doesn't want that. Well she does, but the person she wants she doesn't think wants her. So she takes on his brother who has always loved her. They live in a town surrounded by a gate to keep out the unconsecrated. Mary ends up in the sisterhood and meets a girl from another town, which is unheard of. People don't pass the gates. This girl ends up infected and the town falls. So Mary, her betrothed and his brother, her friend, her brother and his wife, and a small child all pass through the gate in search of others and a new town. The story goes from there. Where you get to see each personality and the fears they have.

I really enjoyed the story, I would like to think if I was in that situation I'd want to see the ocean as well.