The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Whoa. I feel absolutely breathless. Just having finished this novel, I feel as if I have just went through a whirlwind, just sitting here on my couch.

First of all, I love Katniss. She is an unbelievably strong girl, who feels that since her father's death it is her duty to take care of her family. Sometimes she can be a bit headstrong, stubborn, and seemingly emotionless, but ultimately she is a fighter and a survivor in a world that mostly knows hunger and pain.

With The Hunger Games, it will take an emotional toll on you, from the characters you love to the ones you hate, the ones you pity to the ones you wish you could get to yourself. Filled with hope, loss, pain, love, the need to survive, and learning what's really in your heart, it is very thrilling and takes you on an exciting journey that will linger in your mind even after you have finished reading.

I would definitely recommend this book to others and it will probably be one of those books I won't be able to stop talking about for some times. I urge anyone to pick up this book as I feel they won't regret it.

What I give this book:

Waiting On Wednesday - 6/22

I really like this idea, and this is a meme done by quite a few book review bloggers, and hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Waiting On Wednesdays shows books that I am stoked about and can't wait to read!

First up...

Overbite
Meg Cabot
July 5, 2011

Meena Harper has a special gift, but it’s only now that anyone’s ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard—a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican—has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena’s ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead.

Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Anton­escu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena’s sworn off vampires for good . . . at least until she can prove her theory that just because they’ve lost their souls doesn’t mean demons have lost the ability to love.

Meena knows convincing her co-workers—including her partner, Über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf—that vampires can be redeemed won’t be easy . . . especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena’s friends and family as well.

But Meena isn’t the Palatine’s only hope. Father Henrique—aka Padre Caliente—New York City’s youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case.

So why doesn’t Meena—or Alaric—trust him?

As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare . . . and temptations she never even imagined existed impossible to resist.

This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew.
(Amazon)

I loved the first book in this series, Insatiable. You can read my review on this here.

Bad Taste in Boys
Carrie Harris
July 12, 2011

Someone's been a very bad zombie.
Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steriods are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate! She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town . . . and stay hormonally human. (Amazon)

Simply said, this one just sounds cute!

Not enough time...ugh!

I am still hoping to reach my 100 books for my 2011 reading challenge this year. It really is just that though, a challenge. Sometimes it is difficult squeezing in reading time in between work, a 3-year-old, a husband, and housework! I won't be giving up that easily though. ;)

I have began reading The Hunger Games today (and I know I am getting a late start on the craze). I have heard a lot of great things about this series, so I am hoping I won't be disappointed, though I am sure I won't be.

Evermore - Alyson Noel

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

This was an excellent book, hands down, and I can't wait to purchase the next book in the series, Blue Moon.

I could not imagine having to live in Ever's world, knowing everything about everyone - their thoughts, their past, their feelings. Ever is also in a deep amount of pain. Then, meeting Damen changes everything. It was pure joy/torture reading on and on trying to figure out what exactly Damen was. The book kept me hooked trying to unlock the secrets. I very much enjoyed reading this, and do recommend it. Riley, was an enjoyable character as well, and I won't say who or what she is, but she had a bit of mischievousness about her that made it fun.

On the downside, there were a few instances that reminded me of the Twilight Saga, but it wasn't enough to keep from enjoying the story. I'm still intrigued to find out what is going to happen with Ever and Damen. What can I say? I'm a sucker for love!

What I give this book:

Fallen - Lauren Kate

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story. (BarnesandNoble.com)

This is a tough one. I would say for about the first half of the book, I took it slowly. It was a slow start and I could easily put it down and just read it casually. However, when things picked up, it threw me in! I was literally reading late into the night, wanting to know what was going to happen next. One moment, I was just reading lightly, learning about Luce, the school she was at, her friends, and her obsessing over Daniel. The next, my eyes were glued wanting to know more and more and more.

One thing I did not like: it didn't open up into the really good stuff until toward the end. Once I really was drawn into it, it was cut off, with a cliffhanger naturally, to set things up for Torment. At the same time, I'm glad it didn't give absolutely everything away at once or too soon, but maybe a little sooner would have been okay.

All in all, I did enjoy this one, even if was the slow reading at first or the can't-tear-myself-away reading at the end.


What I give this book: