Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

This will definitely have spoilers for Beautiful Creatures, the first book in the Caster Chronicles.

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

Lena and Ethan barely survived Sarafina’s attack and Ethan only survived because of the Book of the Moons. Lena exchanged the life of her Uncle Macon for Ethan’s life and even though she did not know the consequences, she is filled with remorse. As Lena withdrawals from the world and Ethan, she grows closer to her Dark Caster cousin Ridley and the mysterious John Breed, who has the powers of an Incubus without the limitations. Ethan fears he is losing Lena and has no memory of her sacrifice and the two begin to drift, just as Ethan grows closer to Keeper in Training Liz, who is beautiful and mortal. When Lena breaks off their relationship and runs away, Ethan knows he has the save her and learns that he may actually be made for the job. Ethan, Liz, and Link scramble to save Lena, but could they be too late? The Seventeenth Moon is coming and Lena may be more Dark than Light.

I love the way the authors present the setting. Their descriptions of Gatlin and South Carolina are great and their use of the Tunnels to travel to Georgia also make me want to visit Savannah. The secondary characters are some of my favorites, particularly the characters of Amma, Link, Macon, and Ridley. I loved the flashbacks to Macon's past. I also think the relationship between Ethan and Lena is very realistic and the fact that both realize it is not going to be bubble gum and roses the whole time makes it believable. I can't wait to begin the third book, Beautiful Chaos.

Favorite Character: My favorite new character would be Liz. Liz is funny, compassionate, and English.  I almost wish Ethan would choose her over Lena, almost. I love that Ethan and Lena fight so hard to be together, but that they are willing to sacrifice their relationship if it is what they think is best for the other. I love Amma and Macon too, even though we don't see much of Macon in this book, except mainly through the flashbacks. I think Link is my favorite in this book though. He is hilarious and loyal both to Ethan and Ridley.

Favorite Quote: "We don't get to choose what is true. We only get to choose what we do about it." I think we often want to change the truth and that it is hard to accept when we can't do this, so I think this is a great quote for life in general.

I love the gothic feel of this series and the great characters. Definitely a 5 cups of cocoa book and series!

2013 Dusty Bookshelf Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Jessica at  Books A True Story. The goal is to read books that have been sitting on your shelves for a long time or ones on your to be read list that you may or may not own. I finished three books for this challenge last year for the Pixie Dust level. This year I am going to try for the Dusty Bunny level of 5 to 10 books. For more information about this challenge, click on the image at the top or this link http://www.booksatruestory.com/2012/12/05/2013-dusty-bookshelf-sign-ups/.

I will post updates here and on the 2013 challenges page.

2013 Sequel Challenge

I am already participating in Jessi's Paranormal Challenge, but I thought the Sequel Challenge would be a helpful way to finally finish some series! You have from January 1 to December 31, 2013 to complete the challenge and any book after book 1 counts toward the challenge, including novellas after book 1. I really need to finish Insurgent by Veronica Roth( I loved Divergent!) and the books in the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I am sure before the year is out I will have started and stopped many other series as well. I will update this post when I decide on more titles to add to the list. For more information about this challenge click on the image at the top or on Sequel Challenge.

Reading Stack #26

I finished the three books on my last stack, so it is time to load up once again. I am reading Obsidian for my Random Read this month and so far it is interesting. I don't like Daemon much, although Katy seems to be attracted to him. I am only on Chapter 4, so maybe he will show some redeeming qualities soon. I am also reading Beautiful Darkness by Garcia and Stohl and I love getting lost in Lena and Ethan's story again, just like I did in Beautiful Creatures. If I can finish those two books I will have completed my challenges for the year. I would also like to finish the Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong, so I can see how the Supernatural kids story ends. I have started it, but I am trying really hard to read my challenge books first. I still have down to reread Clockwork Prince, but the odds of finishing it before the new year are not good. I love that series, but it breaks my heart everytime I read the twisted love triangle plot. So, I will stick with these four books for my end of the year reads. What do you hope to finish this year?

Legend by Marie Lu

Penguin Group

I finished my third book in the Fall Into Reading Challenge. Legend is the first in the Legend series and book 2, Prodigy will be released in January. It is often compared to the Hunger Games, which it does have an evil dystopian society,  but it is very different from HG.

Each year 10 year olds in the Republic take the Trial, a test to determine their worth to the Republic. June is the Republic's darling. She is the first to score a perfect 1500 score in the Trial and she is about to graduate from college at the age of 15. Day is the Republic's most infamous criminal and failed the Trial. He could be in league with the Colonies who are fighting the Republic saying that the Republic and the Colonies were once United States. He could be fighting for the Patriots, who want to overthrow the "elected" Elector Primo and his regime. In reality, he has his own separate agenda. Day has taken down planes and stolen Notes from a bank, but he never kills anyone, until June's brother Metias. June in her anger wants to hunt down Day and Metias's Commander Jameson and friend, Thomas are willing to allow her the chance. Day for his part was trying to find a cure for the plague for his younger brother. Day throws a knife at Metias as he flees the hospital crime scene, but he thinks he hits Metias in the arm. As June hunts down Day by going to the Lake sector of Los Angelos, she unwittingly befriends the boy and his tagalong Tess. She begins to fall for the boy, until she learns the truth. However as she learns more about Day, she begins to question all she has been taught to believe. Is Day really the cold blooded murder and troublemaker for the good Republic or is the Republic really the enemy? June's decision chould change her world.

I have read several dystopian novels lately and this is one of my favorites. The only one I liked better is Divergent. I loved Lu's writing style and I loved the dual point of views. I think having Day's words in a different font and color than June's was a brilliant publishing idea and it even reflected their different personalities. June's seemed more precise, whereas Day's seemed more thoughtful and informed. June's showed her beliefs in the systems and Day's his ability to see past lies and to the facts. The relationship between the characters was extremely believable and well-developed. I also had a very hard time putting the book down and the pace is so quick, you just don't want to stop reading. Her society seems possible and real, which is a scary thought. You just want June to wake up and take out the Republic. The story is both heart-breaking and thoughtprovoking and  I can't wait until Prodigy.

Favorite Character: Day. He loves his family and is willing to risk everything for them. Even though he knows he should be looking out for himself and his family, he can't help taking care of others, like Tess and June. He is also smart and resourceful and according to many of the females, good-looking.

Favorite Quote: "If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system. That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system. And if you choose to rebel, bring me with you."

Definitely a 5 cups of cocoa book! I was completely drawn into the story and loved the characters! Well-developed and extremely strong debut book!

Note to self: I really need to stop reading series or at least start reading sequels, because my TBR pile is huge!

Classic Double Challenge 2013

This challenge is hosted by Melissa at One Librarian's Book Reviews (1lbr). The idea is to read a classic book or original story, fairy tale, or mythology and compare that to a retelling or a book that relates to the classic story. Melissa lists several options on her site, which you can go to by clicking the image at the top or on her blog's name in this post. She also has different levels you can choose to complete.  Last year I just did the Small level, which is one pair. I read Persuasion and For the Darkness Shows the Stars and I loved them both! This year I am going to try for the Medium level, which is two pairs or four books. I think I want to do Ten by Gretchen McNeil and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I am already reading Ten for the New Author Challenge, but I would love to see how it compares to the original Christie story. I love reading Christie's stories when I am in a reading slump and surprisingly I have not read And Then There Were None yet. Other possibilities include Romeo and Juliet and one of the many retellings of this story or maybe another Jane Austen novel. I hope to pick my second pair soon.

2013 New Authors Challenge

Artwork: Anglerfish by Vlad Gerasimov


The New Authors Challenge is hosted by Jackie at Literary Escapism. The idea is to find new authors that you haven't tried to read in the past. You can pick 15, 25, or 50 new authors. After finishing a book, you post reviews and link them to the New Authors post. For more info go to http://www.literaryescapism.com/new-author-challenge/new-author-challenge-2013.

I am going to try to read 15 new authors. I have a few ideas of authors I would like to read. I may try Rachel Vincent, Gretchen McNeil (I have seen so many great reviews of Ten), and Kristin Cashore. Hopefully I can branch out a little in my reading.
1. Ten by Gretchen McNeil
2.