Reya's Athenaeum

My den of reads, and random ramblings over them...

SPOILER ALERT!

7.6.15 - Enslavement - Liliana Lee

The Enslavement: (Erotic menage historical romance) (Princess Shanyin Book 2) - Liliana Lee, Jeannie Lin

I actually didn't want to review this particular book of Lee's because I left the genre that is erotica a time ago but since these were short novels and it was the only one in the trilogy that I hadn't read.  I thought I'd go ahead and read it, which to my discovery was not the most fabulous of ideas.  

 

I did like and understood the evolution of Shanyin's character throughout the series which was very surprising to me.  I was not the biggest fan of Princess Shanyin in the beginning.  However, I did grow to understand and like her as I continued reading despite the graphic sex throughout the trilogy.  

 

Yet in Enslavement, this is a book that must be read with caution and I added spoiler alert because I am warning people before they read that the sex is very graphic and there is rape involved.  Not many can stomach reading.. which I cannot, but part of me understands why it was in there considering the characters and the storyline.  

 

Needless to say, this was not my favorite book read to date.  But if whomever is reading this does want to read it, go with caution and know that you've been warned.

 

 

Reblogged from Bookloving writer:
“I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.”

~ -Gustave Flaubert

Source: http://ryanlanz.com/2015/05/19/ten-quote-tuesday-41
Reblogged from Bookloving writer:
“Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious one.”

~ Salman Rushdie

Source: http://ryanlanz.com/2015/05/26/ten-quote-tuesday-42

Discover new reviews and bloggers with tags

Reblogged from BookLikes:

 

Tags in your texts are like bookmarks in your books. Tags let you find book reviews, texts, photos, all kind of posts within the same thematic category. Tags open new discovery paths for exploring new book titles and book bloggers -- you can easily search through texts with given tags on BookLikes, add likes and comments, discover new bloggers, and start following new blogs. Apart from discovery role tags are also great to organize your texts. Here's how to use tags on BookLikes. 

 

 

Add tags to your texts

You can add new tags or use your previously tags in the writing box on the right.

 

 

 

Search tags on BookLikes

Searching tags and interaction with the posts are now easier with two ways of discovering tagged book reviews and texts. 

 

1. Dashboard search

Use the upper search box not only to search through BookLikes book catalog but also to search tags. Type tag, e.g. May 2015 to view texts with your May reading lists, and click Tags:

 

 

 

Look through texts with tag May 2015, add likes and comment, find new readers and start following them. 

 

 

 

You can also filter the texts with different kind of posts. Choose your Dashboard view on the right to view only this kind of text with a given tag:

 

 

 

2. Top tags

Go to your Dashboard or admin Blog (click the upper menu and Blog). You'll see Top Tags or Top Tags on BookLikes on your right, click and view the most popular tags of BookLikes community from the last week, and your most commonly used tags. 

 

 

 Top tags by BookLikes community and it your texts

 

 

Click the tag to view texts and reviews with this tag:

 

 

Let's start tagging! 

 

 

P.S. If you like the mustache bookmark, here's some more ideas for DIY bookmarks.

Get to know book bloggers a little better with #GetToKnowMe tag

Reblogged from BookLikes:

 

Join the party with #GetToKnowMeTag and share some spicy details about yourself :-) As book bloggers we often write, share and recommend books, reviews, and quotes; personal posts, on the other hand, are much less popular. How about knowing each other a little better? 

 

Bloggers at BookLikes have already joined #GetToKnowMe tag craze and answered 21 questions about themselves on their book blogs. Have a closer look at the readers and find some new friends. 

 

We'd also love to hear your answers, share the links to your blog posts in the comments below. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Blog: AOBIBLIOPHILE™ (aobibliophile.booklikes.com)

 

Are you named after anyone?

My paternal grandfather. We have the same first and last name.

When he was laid to rest, it was weird hearing the priest  say his name (our name) during the service. This was how it would probably sound like when my time comes. What's even more weird is seeing the same name on the grave marker. Good thing we have different middle names. Still...

 

Read more on AOBIBLIOPHILE™

 

 

Blog: LOVES DANDELIONS; LOVES BOOKS 

(tracymarcotteshaffer.booklikes.com)

 

What are your hobbies?

Reading, spending too much time on social media, acting, & unfinished crafts


Do you have any pets?

Ernie, my dachshund but don't tell him he's a dog

 

Read more on LOVES DANDELIONS; LOVES BOOKS

 

 

Blog: HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE (hfk.booklikes.com)

 

Do you have any special talents?

I can copy most accents in any language within 5 to 30 minutes. I don't do it in purpose, it is automatic reaction of my brain. Thank you Asperger.

 

Read more on HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE

 

 

Blog: BrokenTune - Reviews & Rants (brokentune.booklikes.com)

 

If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

Yes. Absolutely. Like many others on here (it seems), I'm an introvert but I do like going on adventures and hanging out with my friends - just not large groups of strangers. 

 

Read more on BrokenTune - Reviews & Rants

 

 

 

Blog: I'm A Voracious Reader (avoraciousreader.booklikes.com)

 

What are your hobbies?

Reading, surfing the internet, home improvement projects, puzzles (haven’t done one of those in a while though) and my blog. A very recent hobby is obsessing over all things Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel. Nom nom nom!

 

Read more on I'm A Voracious Reader 

 

 

Blog: Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road (bookstooge.booklikes.com)

 

If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

If we were long distance friends, or online friends. Real life, probably not. We don't like people, much less each other :-)

 

Read more on Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road

 

 

Blog: BOOK CUPIDITY (c0urtnie.booklikes.com)

 

Do you have kids?
I do have kids. A nearly 19 year old step-son, and two boys 7 & nearly 4.
Send help.

 

Read more on BOOK CUPIDITY

 

 

Blog: Carpe Librum (carpelibrum.booklikes.com)

 

Summer or winter?

 

Sunbathing, boating, kids home from school, warm & toasty summer. Yet I live in Michigan, home of the 9 month winter. I don't know what's wrong with me either.

 

Read more on Carpe Librum

 

 

Blog: SusannaG - Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady 

(susannag.booklikes.com)

 

Where were you born?

University of Iowa hospital. And a good thing, because it was a complicated delivery, and since my parents were grad students, it was free.

 

Read more on SusannaG - Confessions of a Crazy Cat Lady

 

 

Blog: hippieed perceptions (hippieed.booklikes.com)

 

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Depends on the person, I guess.  If they have tattoos, those.  They they are wearing white sunglasses, that.  How they carry themselves, hair color, clothes so on and so forth. Body language, art and clothing can speak a lot about people.

 

Read more on hippieed perceptions

 

 

Blog: DANG ROVER: COVER TO COVER 

(dang1rover.booklikes.com)

 

When was the last time you cried?

I'm always getting teary eyed.  Just a sensitive guy I guess.  Usually it happens during a tender thought about my children, at church, or when I'm reading.  There were a couple times when Les Miserables got to me most recently.

 

Read more on DANG ROVER: COVER TO COVER

 

 

Blog: Cat's Books: Romance 

(northamericanwordcat.booklikes.com)

 

Favorite movies? 

I love animation. My Neighbor Totoro. Princess Bride and Willow. Its a Mad Mad Mad World. 12 Angry Men, Defending Your Life. 

 

Read more on Cat's Books: Romance 

 

 

Blog: Char's Horror Corner (charlene.booklikes.com

 

 Do you have any pets? 

Right now we have our rescue cat, Jeffrey, and some fish. We are really dog people though, and as soon as our schedules and lifestyle permits, we will once again rescue a dog. Maybe more than one. 

 

Read more on Char's Horror Corner

 

 

Blog: The Moonlight Library (Nemo) 

(moonlightlibrary.booklikes.com)

 

What is your eye colour?

Blueish-green with a hazel ring around the pupil. Yesterday my husband tried to say they're a bit greyish too, but I just think he's just jealous that he's got grey eyes and I have this colour you can't really define.

 

Read more on The Moonlight Library (Nemo)

 

 

 

Blog: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile 

(hopelessbibliophile.booklikes.com)

 

Scary movie or happy endings?

An equal amount of both. Yeah, that's a cop out answer, but it's also the truth! I can't do too much of one or the other, or they lose their shine. You need the sad/scary to appreciate the happy!

 

Read more on Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

 

 

Blog: Tina (HDB) (mischievously.booklikes.com)

 

Favorite movie?

Varies by day. Some top picks: Moulin Rouge, Love Actually, HP series, Good Morning Vietnam, Boondock Saints, What Lies Beneath, A League of Their Own

 

Read more on Tina (HDB)

 

 

Blog: Sock Poppet at Play (sockpoppet.booklikes.com)

 

Favorite smells?

Chocolate cooking or bread baking. I once worked near a chocolate factory and every Thursday they cooked their chocolate. The smell was heavenly and they sent broken pieces to us.

 

Read more on Sock Poppet at Play

 

 

Blog: Buchsalon (cat.booklikes.com)

 

What's your favorite cereal?

Anything crunchy, covered in honey (I had almonds this morning). I always make up for the sugary contents by adding some fresh fruit :)

 

Read more on Buchsalon

 

 

Blog: URL PHANTOMHIVE (urlphantomhive.booklikes.com)

 

Will you ever bungee jump?

No. When I first heard there is a minimum weight of 50kg to be allowed to bungee jump, it was the first and only time in my life I considered crash-dieting.

 

Read more on URL PHANTOMHIVE

 

 

 

Blog: Line Bookaholic (line.booklikes.com)

 

What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home?

I need to check on Google Map... It was Calpe in Spain, near Alicante (1 700km from home).

Do you have any special talents?

I can lick my elbow. Is it a talent?

 

Read more on Line Bookaholic

 

 

 

Blog: IT'S A MAD MAD WORLD (maddan3.booklikes.com)

 

Do you have any pets? 

A cat. Caesar.

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

I will never grew up so the question is pointless.

 

Read more on IT'S A MAD MAD WORLD

 

 

Blog: booklife4life (booklife4life.booklikes.com)

 

What are your hobbies?

Reading duhhhh. Seeing how much sleep i really need. Binge watching whole series. Avoiding social interactions. Reading whole books in a few hrs. Freaking out about my future.

 

Read more on booklife4life

 

 

Blog: The Fish Place (ethiercn.booklikes.com)

 

Do you have any pets?

Yes.  Two dogs, 3 cats.

 

 Favorite movie?

Um, I love LOTR, Richard III (with McKellan), various others.  Long live David Bowie's hair!

 

Read more on The Fish Place

 

 

Blog: Passionate about Books! (bookwizard.booklikes.com)

 

  1. What do you want to be when you grow up? 
  2. When I was younger I went to school to become an obstetrician, (I love babies). Got too busy in the Air Force. Now, I wouldn't mind working or owing a bookstore.

Read more on Passionate about Books! 

 

 

Blog: NerdyBirdie (nerdybirdie.booklikes.com)

 

Computer or Television?

Well . . . with a TV you can watch all kinds of shows and movies. But, with a Computer you can watch all kinds of shows and movies AND have access to internet and many other beautiful things . . . so, COMPUTER! :D

 

Read more on NerdyBirdie

 

 

Blog: Olga Godim (olgagodim.booklikes.com)

 

Are you named after anyone?

Yes. My great aunt, my grandmother’s sister was Olga. She was a heroine of French resistance, killed by Gestapo in 1944, long before I was born. There is a monument to their resistance cell, with all the names inscribed on it (all killed), somewhere in France. Her name was Olga Bancic.

 

Read more on Olga Godim

 

 

Blog: Lora's Rants and Reviews (loram.booklikes.com)

 

Favorite movie?

That's a hard one. I'll go with Pirates of the Caribbean, the original.

Changed my mind because someone mentioned David Bowie. Labyrinth!

 

Read more on Lora's Rants and Reviews

 

 

Blog: Sarah's Library (sarahf1984.booklikes.com)

 

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

This is a terrible thing to admit to, but I notice their looks first.  When I first see a person, before they begin speaking, I take note of the way they're dressed and whether their hair looks clean.  First impressions really do count, which is why I find it hard going out because I figure if I look at others in that way, others are looking at me in that way.

 

Read more on Sarah's Library

 

 

Blog: E. (edwardlorn.booklikes.com)

 

Will you ever bungee-jump? 

HAHAHAHAHAHA! More like bungee-die. I weigh 350 pounds. I’ve not found a tower operator that didn’t laugh at me when I approached his station.

 

Read more on E.

 

 

Blog: Kitty Horror (katem.booklikes.com)

 

Favourite movie?

Rear Window. You can't go wrong with Hitchcock.

 

 

Read more on Kitty Horror

 

 

Blog: Paul Read or Dead (paulnelson.booklikes.com)

 

If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

 

Well maybe, yeah, I think I'm a laugh, I can be a bit of a twat at times, I work with a big group of guys and there's a lot of piss taking going on. I'm a bit of a wind-up merchant and my first reaction to most situations is to make light of it with a joke. If anyone's ever been offended by any comment I've made then my advice, step back and look at it in a light hearted manner. If you’re still annoyed them I admit I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.

 

Read more on Paul Read or Dead

 

 

Blog: charlton (charlton.booklikes.com)

 

What’s your favorite cereal?

Apple Jacks

What is your eye colour?

Blue

 

Read more on charlton

 

 

Blog: Tami (tami.booklikes.com)

 

When was the last time you cried?

Tuesday. I had a very minor car accident with my company car and had a panic attack about it. Because I thought they are going to send me to Guantanamo Bay for bumping a rearview mirror.

 

Read more on Tami

 

 

Blog: Cody's Bookshelf 

(theguywholovesbooks.booklikes.com)

 

What are your hobbies?

Besides reading and book collecting, I'm a political junkie -- my mom has been in politics over ten years and she and I share that interest despite huge political belief differences. I could debate politics for hours. I also love music and the '60s counterculture and trying new food.

 

Read more on Cody's Bookshelf 

 

 

Blog: BOOKLOVING AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER

(minwynn.booklikes.com)

 

Favorite movie?

Gilda.

 

Do you have any siblings?

Yes, a sister, who is also my best friend.

 

Read more on BOOKLOVING AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER

 

 

Blog: BOOKLOVING WRITER (ilirwen.booklikes.com)

 

Are you named after anyone?

Yes. My mum was a teacher and once she was testing children's ability to read and met a very cute, but not so bright little girl by a lovely name that is also now mine.

 

Read more on BOOKLOVING WRITER

 

P.S.

If you haven't answered the questions yet, here's a full list of them for Get to know me tag:

 

1. Are you named after anyone?
2. When was the last time you cried?
3. Do you have kids? 
4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?
5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
6. Will you ever bungee-jump?
7. What’s your favorite cereal?
8. What’s the first thing you notice about people?
9. What is your eye colour?
10. Scary movie or happy endings?
11. Favorite smells?
12. Summer or winter? Summer.
13. Computer or television?
14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home?
15. Do you have any special talents?
16. Where were you born?
17. What are your hobbies?
18. Do you have any pets?
19. Favorite movie?
20. Do you have any siblings?
21. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Reblogged from Books Over TV:

6.15.14 - Dark Seraphine - KaSonndra Leigh

Dark Seraphine - KaSonndra Leigh

Man, I have a short list of writers whose brains I would give all the gold in China to see into and would love to see what goes into their creative imaginations and Leigh is one of them.  

 

At first, when I first read Dark Seraphine I had a few difficulties that were all mine.  I seldom read books from the male perspective, which as a bibliophile, it shouldn't be a big deal, but one seldom can predict as to how one's reading style changes over time.  *shrugs*  Well, that was then and this is now.  I had picked the book up again since I had developed more of a taste for YA dystopian as of late, and this one became such a surprise to me.

 

FIRST! The deets...

 

"Mom always says the angels walk among us. She forgot to tell me that sometimes they're not all fluffy and nice."

Seventeen-year-old Caleb Wood has seen people he calls the walkers since he was a baby. It didn't take long for him to realize something…no one can see these strangers but him. They never stuck around or tried to touch him. And they never said a word. That was until one day on the first day of class in his senior year when an incredibly gorgeous girl strolls into his life…and things are never the same again.

Soon Caleb realizes he has stepped into the middle of a growing conflict between two ancient groups. And his ability to see the invisible ones, the half-breeds that want to modify the human race, just might be the only hope both he and the mysterious, but infuriating, Gia, have of making it out
alive.

 

 

The other interesting thing about KaSonndra's works is how she creates these worlds that often inspire music to pop into my head... most of her other works have and for a very freaky odd reason 'Bring me to Life' by Evanescence kept echoing in my ears as I read DS...

 

 

SPOILER ALERT!

6.5.15. - Zoo - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Zoo - Michael Ledwidge, James Patterson

 

 

You know it's odd when you get so mad and thoughtful over a book that all you can say is 'This Book.'  Period.

 

Just this freakin book.   

 

Here's the 411 blurb taken from Amo... Minus the 'oh look how fabulous this book is part.'  Have I mentioned that I'm a tad cynical at times?

 

Anyway. 

 

World
All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.

Destruction
With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide. With wildly inventive imagination and white-knuckle suspense that rivals Stephen King at his very best, James Patterson's ZOO is an epic, non-stop thrill-ride from "One of the best of the best." (TIME)

 

It's a good thing that it was not my copy of the book just a borrowed copy from the library otherwise I would've been more pissed that I bought my own copy.  

 

So why am I so pissed off after having given the book a 3 and half stars?

 

Because.

 

I don't know whether I'm pissed off at the stupidity of the humans in the book or the fact that Patterson and the other guy has written a book like this to show just how absolutely stupid people as a whole or individually can be.  Which would kind of make them sorta geniuses.

 

But given the fact that it TOOK the geniuses OVER A GOOD PORTION OF THE BOOK TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM and came up with an eh sorta solution, just doesn't not give geniuses a really great track record to me.  

 

UHHHHHGGGGGGGHHH!!!

 

I'm still all grrrrrr... over this..

 

And quotes from different sites say that this is one of his best books ever...

 

Sheesh people.  

 

Now don't think that Chloe is going to be all that in this book despite the synopsis.  Chloe was actually the one that pissed me off the worst.    (Here's the spoiler)  Instead of looking for a way to protect her son from the chaos that she knows is going on, she instead caves into the fear and does nothing even when danger is literally at her doorstep.  For a scientist, she was INCREDIBLY stupid.   One could say that well she was having a panic attack.  Well,  she was in a situation that could induce a freak out but she was a mother... iono... I have had ptsd, but if I was a mother my first thought would be in how to protect my child.  Wouldn't a mother's protective instincts kick in first?

 

See when you meet Chloe you get this sense that this was a smart, intelligent woman  after Oz got to know her a little better, and then it goes from there to 5 yrs later she and Oz has a child together, all the crap is hitting the fan, and she's at home with her son and she falls to pieces.  Hence, I almost threw the book against the wall.  

 

After finishing the book, I'm left with this sense that all Patterson has just shown that humans are the biggest idiots on the planet.  

 

*sighs*  Well, it looks like I'm not watching the tv series.   Can you imagine seeing it on the big screen?

 

News from Jeannie Lin - the Ever After Box

6.2.15 - Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

All my reviews are going to be short because I'm just not like all the other blogs that give all sorts of details and such.  

 

Just me, giving the short and sweet and if I REALLY like it, like Shatter Me, then there may be a bit more to the review.

 

What was it that I enjoyed soooooo much about this book?

 

The way Mafi writes, and that she doesn't bog the reader down with too much detail and characters but enough to really get the story going.  

 

If there is a want of detail about the book.. here..

 

 

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
Hardcover, 338 pages
Published November 15th 2011 by Harper
Shatter Me is a YA dystopian with the main female character with 'powers'.  At first, I thought maybe this was an X-Men wannabe.  Eh, sorta but no.  
 
I like how Mafi writes in a way like a poet, and yet not.  The writing itself is different from other books I've read, and you really feel Juliette, who by the way has a name that also hooked me.  Anyway, I digress.   
 
Told in Juliette's pov in a world where things are seriously effed up but seriously makes one think that it's a reflection of today's society.  
 
Seriously.
 
And I seriously like Mafi's way with words told through Juliette's eye.  This is one book where I didn't want to put down and made me want to devour it.  I hadn't had that feeling for a book in a good while.  
 
Not to mention the characters... 
 
You gotta love it when the bad guy is real about himself...
"Well you're the murderer,"  I tell him.  "So you must be right."
His smile is laced with dynamite.  "Go to sleep."
"Go to hell."
He works his jaw. Walks to the door.  "I'm working on it."
Warner makes you wonder.  He makes you ponder what is up with this dude.  You kinda empathize in a weird way his obsession with power and with Juliette. But then I think it's Mafi's way of messing with the readers' heads because that's the funny thing about writers/authors they like to take their readers heads and see if they can mess with it.  
 
*sighs*  I'm putting out more than I want to.
 
I think I just seriously hearts Mafi's writing.   I have placed posty tabs in this borrowed copy of the book that I don't want to give up.  I haven't put posty tabs in a book in a long time.   
 
I feel like I'm a VERY cynical reviewer/reader.  Probably because I haven't felt the need to devour a book such as this in a hellalong time.   
 
I have so many quotes I couldn't decide which to put in here.  
 
Well, needless to say, I will be looking forward to the other books in this series... =)
 
 
 
 

AND... I found a trailer! XD

6.2.15 - Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

All my reviews are going to be short because I'm just not like all the other blogs that give all sorts of details and such.  

 

Just me, giving the short and sweet and if I REALLY like it, like Shatter Me, then there may be a bit more to the review.

 

What was it that I enjoyed soooooo much about this book?

 

The way Mafi writes, and that she doesn't bog the reader down with too much detail and characters but enough to really get the story going.  

 

If there is a want of detail about the book.. here..

 

 

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
Hardcover, 338 pages
Published November 15th 2011 by Harper
Shatter Me is a YA dystopian with the main female character with 'powers'.  At first, I thought maybe this was an X-Men wannabe.  Eh, sorta but no.  
 
I like how Mafi writes in a way like a poet, and yet not.  The writing itself is different from other books I've read, and you really feel Juliette, who by the way has a name that also hooked me.  Anyway, I digress.   
 
Told in Juliette's pov in a world where things are seriously effed up but seriously makes one think that it's a reflection of today's society.  
 
Seriously.
 
And I seriously like Mafi's way with words told through Juliette's eye.  This is one book where I didn't want to put down and made me want to devour it.  I hadn't had that feeling for a book in a good while.  
 
Not to mention the characters... 
 
You gotta love it when the bad guy is real about himself...
"Well you're the murderer,"  I tell him.  "So you must be right."
His smile is laced with dynamite.  "Go to sleep."
"Go to hell."
He works his jaw. Walks to the door.  "I'm working on it."
Warner makes you wonder.  He makes you ponder what is up with this dude.  You kinda empathize in a weird way his obsession with power and with Juliette. But then I think it's Mafi's way of messing with the readers' heads because that's the funny thing about writers/authors they like to take their readers heads and see if they can mess with it.  
 
*sighs*  I'm putting out more than I want to.
 
I think I just seriously hearts Mafi's writing.   I have placed posty tabs in this borrowed copy of the book that I don't want to give up.  I haven't put posty tabs in a book in a long time.   
 
I feel like I'm a VERY cynical reviewer/reader.  Probably because I haven't felt the need to devour a book such as this in a hellalong time.   
 
I have so many quotes I couldn't decide which to put in here.  
 
Well, needless to say, I will be looking forward to the other books in this series... =)
 
 
 
 

AND... I found a trailer! XD

Spice your posts: embed Tweets and Tumblr posts into your BookLikes texts

Reblogged from BookLikes:

 

Embedded post is a simple way of adding a public post published on other platforms to your BookLikes reviews and texts. Now you can spice your posts with embedded Tweets and Tumblr content. Here's how. 

 

You can get the embedded code directly from the post on Twitter or Tumblr, click the three dot icon for more options under the posts and Embed:

 

 

 

 

Grab the codes and paste them into the writing box on your BookLikes. 

 

 

Choose a place where you want to put the embedded post, and click the icon on the tool bar. Then paste the code in the window:

 

 

The embedded post won't be visible in full in the editing mode:

 

 

Embedded tweet

 

 

Embedded Tumblr post

 

 

But when you save to Draft or Publish... Voila! Your first embedded post is ready and looks great!

 

Embedded tweet

 

 

Embedded Tumblr post 

 

P.S. For video scripts: remember to use the Video type pots.

 

 

Why it's great to use the embedded posts? 

 

Thanks to the embedded posts you can share the news, support the author of the post, and spice your texts with real-life examples.

 

It's also a great way to show the reference sources when you want to quote a person or refer to the idea published on somebody else's profile. The embedded post always shows the author and the source link making it easier for the reader to go back to the original text, profile or post. 

 

Why not to embed the Tweets and Tumblr posts to trigger the discussion? The more diversified your posts are, the more popular your text will become. We bet your followers will love to engage in the discussion where they can view different point of views with supporting examples. In consequence, this will boost the engagement and turn your readers and followers into active participants of your BookLikes webpage. 

 

Finally, you can use the embedded posts to show your best content from your social media and gain followers on various platforms you're active on.

Time lost reading a book is not wasted.

As I read: Shatter me

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

After watching the View this morning and the ghastly thought of one person wanting to do a revolution that enforces the idea of say that a person is 'whatever' is astounding.  To deny a person's identity of who they are to be a 'whatever' leaves such an open door for a 'whatever' to occur. 

 

One person can say labels.. don't label me.  But is it labeling?   Then  I read, Shatter Me which surprises me and grips me.  A young girl, who I thought was on a verge of a break down, instead has much resilience and understanding for one who has been through so much in a society who wants to strip down all labels, identity, and reestablish society in its own concept of what was good and right.

 

Traditional homes of our old world have been abandoned, windows shattered, roofs collapsing, red and green and blue paint scrubbed into muted shades to better match our bright future.  Now I see the compounds carelessly constructed on the ravaged land and I begin to remember.  I remember how these were supposed to be temporary.  I remember the few months before I was locked up when they'd begun building them.  These small, cold quarters would suffice just until they figured out all the details of this new plan, is what The Reestablishment had said.  Just until everyone was subdued.  Just until people stopped protesting and realized that this change was good for them, good for their children, good for their future.

 

I remember there were rules.

No more dangerous imaginations, no more prescription medications.  A new generation comprised of only healthy individuals would sustain us.  The sick must be locked away.  The old must be discarded.  The troubled must be given up to the asylums. Only the strong should survive.

Yes.

Of course.

No more stupid languages and stupid stories and stupid paintings placed above stupid mantels.  No more Christmas, no more Hanukkah, no more Ramadan and Diwali.  No talk of religion, of belief, of personal convictions. Personal convictions were what nearly killed us all, is what they said.

 

Having a conviction, having priorities are what make us all beautifully unique individual humans.  Not ravaging beasts.  This is why we have brains, vocal cords and different color skin, because we are beautifully crafted people with hearts, souls, and spirits.  

 

I love how Mafi crafts this world and so eloquently speaks of things that even hit so close home with what is even going on today, even though it is Juliette's world with the Reestablishment. 

 

I go back to the word, 'labelling'.  Is it labelling?  Or are these celebrities ashamed of who they are?   People have committed suicide because the lack of knowing who they are or are ashamed of who they are.  Why be ashamed of who you are?   Know who you are, own it.  Never be ashamed of who you are.. your identity.  

 

Believe me it took me years to finally learn and understand this myself.  And I am a more better healed up, and healthy person for having done so.

 

Thank you, Tahereh Mafi, for Shatter Me.

 

SPOILER ALERT!

The Warlord and the Nightingale - Jeannie Lin

Once Upon A Fairy Tale: A Collection of 11 Fairy Tale Inspired Romances - Jennifer Blackstream, Cate Rowan, Danielle Monsch, Nadia Lee, Jeannie Lin, Ella Drake, Dee Carney, Sela Carsen, Jennifer Lewis

The only picture that could be found is that of the whole anthology in which the Warlord and the Nightingale is a part of.  The Warlord and the Nightingale is a mini tale of the Steampunk genre set in feudal Japan. 

 

I won the little minibook in a giveaway that the author Jeannie Lin had for those who subscribed to her newsletter, and I was ever so stoked to get the book.  =)  I wanted to read the story sooooo bad but I didn't want to cough up the money to buy anthology when I just wanted to read one story.

 

Yeah, I'm a tad picky like that.  

 

Anyway.  

 

Kanakuri no Hanzo is a Kanakuri maker who is summoned by the warlord, Lord Mitzunaga to create a Kanakuri, which is a type of mechanical puppet of sorts, created elaborately and as wondrously as one can.  Innocently he accepts the challenge and request unknowing of the hidden motives of the feudal lords.  

 

While staying at the compound of Lord Mitzungaga, Hanzo meets Lady Yura of Edo.  A woman of great beauty and a voice of one who could only put the Warlord to sleep, Lady Yura and Hanzo develop a cautious friendship of sorts that leads to more that could mean death for more because Yura is fiercely protected by the Warlord and murders those who would even casually mention her name in front of the Lord Mitzuangaga.

 

Okay.  Stopping there I may end up giving the whole story, and for such a short story, it is so beautifully woven.  The detail and imagination just takes you there and you're just caught up so that by the time you finish the story you're left wanting more.

 

Needless, to say, the ending was very surprising to me and very satisfying.  But it left me wanting more.  =)

 

It's a good thing I have more of Ms. Lin's works to read.=) 

 

Thanks Ms. Lin for the book!!

Reblogged from Books Over TV:

Currently reading

Clockwork Samurai (Gunpowder Chronicles) by Jeannie Lin
Progress: 26%
Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi