[Review] Holier Than Thou by Laura Buzo

Holier Than Thou

Author: Laura Buzo

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 01/05/2012

Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 290

Source: For review

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating:

Amazing!

My thoughts:

My, oh my, was this review difficult to write! Holier Than Thou is a new adult title and written by Aussie author Laura Buzo, and for that alone I should have breezed through this novel without a problem. However, the topics explored in Holier Than Thou felt even more substantial than those in Good Oil (debut). Which made it sometimes difficult to read, and even harder to organise my thoughts. It actually took weeks for me to finally solidify exactly how I feel for this book – I read this book in May! – but I can firmly say that I deeply recommend this book.

[Review] Pandemonium (#2) by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium (#2)

(#2, Delirium trilogy)
Delirium | Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 28/02/2012

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 375

Source: For review

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating:

Amazing!

My thoughts:

SPOILERS AHEAD - ONLY READ IF YOU'VE READ DELIRIUM. ;)

Preface

My 'review' for Delirium (linked above) was written straight after I read that cliffhanger/tearjerker of an ending, and so therefore I let my emotions run rampant along the screen. As a result . . . well, I didn't reflect my thoughts on the book in full; much of it was just the shock-wowza factor, and for that I gave the book a 5/5. I recently re-read it and I'd give it a 3.5/5 now because, overall, it's a snoozer (for me). I liked everything all right; it's just that nothing really got to me, until I got to the end. 

Bursting with action, the second book in Oliver’s dystopian trilogy where love is seen as a disease (Deliria Nervosa) kept my attention from abrupt beginning to fist-clenching end. I may be in the minority with this, but I actually liked Pandemonium more than Delirium! There was just so much more going on. In Delirium, there were bouts of panic and action, but much of the book I’ll admit left me bored. Not the case in Pandemonium. I couldn’t peel my eyes away!

Tune in Tuesday (1): Throne of Glass & Pushing the Limits

Tune in Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at GReads. It's pretty self-explanatory as to what this feature is about. I'll be linking a song/s to each book I am currently reading, or one I have recently finished, or what ever.

Music and books are so alike, in that they not only tell a story; they also have heaps of room for interpretation and the experience of either is really up to the consumer. That's the true beauty in both; they can spark inspiration and at its best . . . they're the closest things to magic. I love discovering new (and good) music as much as I love discovering new books. Join in every week! And please, please, comment with any new songs you find!

(click on cover images for Goodreads page)

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry.

It's one of those good-girl-meets-bad-boy stories, which I have a 50/50 chance of reacting by loathing all the characters--especially the bad boy, or getting swept up in the beauty of the unlikely romance and feeling for the poor guy who has a sorrowful past. I'm glad to say PTL is in the latter category.

I think that McGarry has done a good job of creating believable characters that inspire empathy from the reader.

Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Trailer

Buy:

The Nile | Fishpond | The Book Depository

(^ NeedtoBreathe - Something Beautiful)

Red - Pieces
Pillar - Secrets and Regrets
Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All (Echo to her pa)
Allison Iraheta - You Don't Know Me
OneRepublic - Secrets
 Parachute - Kiss Me Slowly 

["Official" playlist is in the back of Pushing the Limits!]

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

This is among my most-anticipated releases of the year! I implore you to read the four prequel novellas before tackling this book.

I'm just loving it so far, and I knew I was going to. Read for the snarky, badass assassin-heroine. Read for the high fantasy elements and awesome fighting scenes. Read for the finely executed writing. Above it all, read it because Sarah J. Maas has worked 10 years towards her publication. 10 years! And she's cute as a button, hehe.

Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Trailer

Buy:

The Nile | Borders | The Book Depository

(^ Within Temptation - Stand My Ground)

Avril Lavigne - Wish You Were Here (#0.4, Celaena > Sam)

Allison Iraheta - Pieces
Skylar Grey - Coming Home p.2

[The "official" playlist - in abundance :)]

I'm going to stop with Throne of Glass. It's hard because it's a fantasy book so I just feel like contemporary music doesn't fit quite right. Suggestions?

Bloomsbury's Throne of Glass kick-off giveaway!

One lucky AU/NZ resident will be the lucky lucky person to win BIG!

Bloomsbury has got this contest going on on Facebook (CLICK) - just answer the question and fill in your details, and you've got the chance to win a $150 ASOS GC and a free Bloomsbury title each month for a year.

I swear if the giveaway was just for the ASOS GC I'd bite, but since there are books up for grabs, as a blogger I feel obligated to just get the word out there. So enter up, share with your friends . . . there are also a couple other giveaways. You'll have to like the Throne of Glass page, but why wouldn't you want to? It is simply spectacular.

And I am so excited for this book. I'm currently on the third book of the prequel novellas and will get right to the beautiful novel shortly after I've gotten through the fourth.

Sarah J. Maas books

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (#0.1) || goodreads ~ review

The Assassin and the Desert (#0.2) || goodreads ~ review

The Assassin and the Underworld (#0.3) || goodreads ~ review

The Assassin and the Empire (#0.4) || goodreads ~ review

Throne of Glass (#1) || goodreads ~ review

[Review] Survive by Alex Morel

Survive

Author: Alex Morel

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 01/08/2012

Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Pages: 260

Source: For review

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating:

Good read

Summary:

Jane is running away from everything. From the facility she’s been living in, from her pain, from her guilt, from life. She boards a plane to Montclair, New Jersey, though her destination isn’t important – she doesn’t plan to be alive when the plane lands.

Jane has devised the perfect suicide. She’ll fall asleep on the plane and never wake up. But as she’s reaching for her pills in the tiny bathroom, the plane hits turbulence and everything goes black.

Jane wakes amid the charred wreckage of a plane crash on a snowy mountaintop, and discovers just one other survivor – a boy named Paul. Lost in a perilous, icy landscape, with little food and water, their chance of survival seems small. But as the pair unite against the vast wilderness, Jane discovers a reason to fight for her life.

My thoughts:

US HC cover

This book is a celebration. Of life, of love, of luck and hope and fortune and courage and determination. It embraces the very essence of the human experience; the animalistic instinct for survival and just how far dire circumstances can turn around a person's perspective on the world.