Random Reads-August

I enjoyed doing this last month, so I thought I would try it again. This is a meme hosted by Sarah at imlovingbooks.com. You can choose to use Goodreads or create your own list or use your bookshelves. This month I created a list of books at the library I wanted to read. It was 16 books, then I went to random.org and my random number was 11 which matched Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. This is a fairly new release, but I knew I would not get around to reading it for awhile, unless it was my random read. I am excited about this twist on Peter Pan and I think reading a book from Tinkerbell's perspective will be fun!

Reading Stack #18

I am currently reading two books for two reading challenges. I am a few chapters into Beautiful Creatures and a few chapters into Persuasion. However three books I really want to read came into the library today. I know I am going to start Endlessly, since it seems like I have been waiting forever for this book. I also checked out The Girl in the Clockwork Collar and I really want to see what happens next to Jasper, Finley, and all of the characters. Hopefully I can fit in some reading while watching the Olympics!

Body & Soul by Stacey Kade

This is the final book in the Ghost and the Goth trilogy. If you have not read either of the other two books, this will have spoilers for those.

Alona Dare is now trapped in the body of Lily Turner. She and Will are desperate to get her out of Lily and back in her role as Will's spirit guide. Alona decides to embrace her role as Lily by reinventing the two of them as Ally Turner. Alona wants to do what is best for Lily's family, so she tries really hard to be who they want, but after a while she just can't do it. While searching for a way to separate Alona and Lily, Will and Ally stumble upon a yellow pages paper that Will's dad held on to. On the paper is the address for Malachi the Magnificent. At Malachi's, the two run into Alona's best friend, Misty, who claims Alona is haunting her. The two find out it is actually Malachi's-real name Edmund's-sister Erin. Erin is the only ghost Edmund can see and the only thing Erin wants is to live again. Erin overpowers Alona and takes over Lily, leaving Alona barely clinging to her ghostly form. Will and Alona decide to try to save Lily from Erin, but it could be too late for Alona to survive.

I loved watching Will and Alona deal with their complicated feelings for each other. Alona really examines her life in this third book and comes to terms with her past. She learns the value of forgiveness and honesty and Will learns to finally stand up for himself. The two realize they could go on without each other, but that they do make each other's lives better.

Favorite Character: Alona/Ally. I enjoyed see her grow-up and actually getting to enjoy her second life. You can see why she was so mean and how she is working to change her personality.

Favorite Quote:"Severed Arm Dude and Spring Break Girl had joined the faux-Lincoln ghost, and they were now talking among themselves and gesturing in our direction." "Someone is pretending to be me, the spirit of me, to scare my best friend. How is that not a concern?" I enjoy her descriptions and Alona/Ally and Will's sarcasm.

I enjoyed this series and thought the ending was nicely done. I could see her starting a new series off of it, but I don't think that will happen. I give this 4 bars of chocolate and I will miss Will and Alona/Ally!

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross- July Random Read

I finished my July Random Reads hosted by Sarah at imlovingbooks.com! This month's book was The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross.

Finley knows that she is different. Most girls cannot fight grown men and win. She feels like she is two people in the same body. When she is threatened or afraid her darker side takes over, which is what happens with Lord Felix tries to attack her. She flees from his employment with him bloody on the floor and literally runs into Griffin King on his velocycle, a duke who also has special powers, which include manipulating emotions and talking to the dead. Griffin recognizes Finley as a kindred spirit and takes her to his house to recover. There Finley meets more people like including Emily who can talk to machines, Jasper who is extremely quick, and Sam who is very strong and part machine himself. It is not long before Griffin realizes Finley is connected to his group by the very things that made him and his friends special, an experiment Griffin's parents conducted before their murders. A special organism called organites or wee beasties as Emily calls them were discovered by Griffin's parents in the center of the Earth. Finley's father was part of Griffin's group along with another man who calls himself, The Machinist. The Machinist is causing machines to attack humans including Sam which lead to him becoming part machine. Griffin and his friends must stop the Machinist before it is too late, the fate of the British monarchy rests in their hands.

Along with the action in this story is two love triangles; one between Emily, Sam, and Jasper, and one between Finley, Griffin, and another character named Jack Dandy. Jack is a criminal boss with possibly a good heart. The romances are actually not cliched and are believable.

I loved the action in this series and I loved that Finley can physically defend herself. She is an extremely strong heroine, but she still has emotions. The fight scenes were great and the romance is very sweet and does not overpower the rest of the story. I loved the Victorian England setting and I really enjoy steampunk stories.

Favorite Character: I loved them all, but Finley is my favorite. She is strong and compassionate. She thinks of others, but also will defend herself when the occasion arises.

Favorite Quote: "Committing my magnificence to mem'ry, are you ducks?" "I'll play the game, Finley Jayne, because I think you are worth it, but I won't be trifled with. Do you understand? Someday you're going to have to choose." Both quotes are by Jack, who was an interesting secondary character.

I loved this book and it was a complete surprise. I put it on my list because of the pretty cover, but the story was great. I liked the action and romance and I have already checked out the second in the series. 5 bars of chocolate for sure!

Goddess Legacy by Aimee Carter

I received Goddess Legacy as an e-galley on Netgalley. I loved the other books by Aimee Carter and was very excited to be approved for Goddess Legacy. I think with each book, Aimee's storytelling gets better and better. I love her twist on the Greek myths and she definitely provides her own spin on the Olympians. I enjoy how she can make you feel both sorry for the characters and angry at them at the same time. She brings the Greek myths to life while giving a unique spin to each one, making them more fun and more romantic than the originals.
Goddess Legacy is a collection of short stories told from the point of view of a god or goddess. The first story in the collection is from Hera/Calliope's point of view. If you have read any of the Goddess Test series, you know that Calliope is the villain of the series. The Goddess Queen, Hera's story, shows why Calliope is angry with the others and it makes you sympathetic to her. It shows the traditional Zeus/Hera story, but twisted with the love Hera has for Hades. However any sympathy for Hera is crushed in the last story God of Darkness about Hades and his search for a new bride. Lovestruck Goddess shows how Ava/Aphrodite came to love her husband Nicholas/Hephaestus. Goddess of the Underworld gives Persephone's side of the Hades/Persephone story and shows how she came to love Adonis. God of Thieves is from Hermes/James point of view and how he fell in the love with a mortal, but it was not to be. I loved this unique story and it was probably my favorite of the book. I thought it was creative to throw in a type of Robin Hood story with a twist and it shows the bad side of Hades along with the good side of James, which is not shown as much in the Goddess Test series.
This was a very creative book and a good way to give background on the other characters of the story. It helps keep away some of the wait for the last book in the Goddess Test series, but I am already ready for the Goddess Inheritance!
Favorite Quote: I love the first line actually. "In all the years I'd existed, I'd never expected to be free." I think that sums up Hera perfectly and haven't we all felt that way at some point.
Favorite Character: In this one, I loved James. The God of Thieves was a sweet story and showed his loyalty to both family and friends as well as the guilt he does feel for what happened between Persephone and Hades. James is a complicated character and I enjoyed seeing Aimee show this other side of him.
This is easily a 5 bar of chocolate book! It is definitely a contender for my favorite book of the year. I think Aimee Carter is extremely talented and I will be looking for more books by her, even after this series is finished.

Reading Challenges

I have decided to try two more challenges for the year. The first is the Dusty Book Shelf challenge hosted by booksatruestory.com. To see the full rules, click on the picture. There are several books I would like to read that are just setting on my shelf or the library's shelf. I have decided that Pixie Dust is the level for me, since it is already the middle of July. I am hoping to read at least three books for this challenge.
The first up is Beautiful Creatures, which I have wanted to read since 2010. I have already started it and I like seeing the story from Ethan's point of view. I finished this 8-09 and reviewed it 8/12.
I will make my second selection really soon!

The second challenge is the Classic Double Challenge 2012 hosted by librariansbookreviews.blogspot.com. For this challenge, you try to read a classic book and then read a modern twist on that classic. I am just going for the Small Challenge on this one as well. I have not picked books yet, but I am leaning toward Persuasion or Jane Eyre for the classic book. I hope to make a decision soon.

I am still reading Body and Soul and Girl in the Steel Corset and am past the halfway point in both of them.

Reading Stack #17

I am still trying to finish Body and Soul. I actually do enjoy the series, but I just keep picking up other things. I am almost halfway through my Random Read, Girl in the Steel Corset. It is really good! I love Finley and her struggle between her two sides. I will try to focus on these two, but I am flipping through Beautiful Creatures and a couple of books I picked up at the library today.