Showing posts with label Veronica Rossi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veronica Rossi. Show all posts

Sunday, 3 February 2013

Stacking The Shelves: January!

What is Stacking The Shelves all about?
Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

I thought it would be easier to do monthly stacking the shelves posts opposed to weekly or periodically!

 Actual Shelf!
Easy by Tammara Webber- Made the leap from Ebook to 'real book' because I love it so much and it was half price!
Bunheads by Sophie Flack- This one caught my eye on one of my many Through The Ever Night Searches
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin- Decided to try this one out!
Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi- It took me three weeks to get my hands on this one!

Borrowed Shelf!

Reckless by S.C Stephens- reserved! So glad I get to finish the series off with a proper book- symbolises the success S.C Stephens has had :)
Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon- I don't really remember what prompted me to try out this book but I'm glad I did!

Virtual Shelf!


Beautiful Things Never Last by Steph Campbell- I loved Grounding Quinn and I had to catch up with their story
Up In Flames by Nicole Williams- Love Nicole Williams Love a sale :P
The Next Forever by Lisa Burstein-This one keeps popping up so I thought I'd check it out!
Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally- This one is so popular I need to read it :)
Falling by Jolene Perry- Apparently when I'm drunk in charge of a smart phone I snap up 77p offers!

Review Shelf!  
(picture wont upload!)

Vain by Fisher Amelie- I loved Thomas and January so I jumped at the chance to review Vain!
Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot- This one is high on my review list!
NetGalley
Speechless by Hannah Harrington- I've heard great things about Saving June and Speechless did not disappoint!
Dare You To by Katie McGarry- I loved Pushing The Limits, I'm excited to read Beth's story.
 
What did you add to your shelves in January?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Cover Comparisions! Under The Never Sky

Post which will feature book/reading related things I love!
This post is on Cover Comparisons!
Everyone judges covers! I thought I'd do a comparison on how international covers would have affected my judgement of certain books as covers differ so vastly between countries!
This post's book is Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi!

UK!

Judgement- I didn't like the cover of Under The Never Sky when I picked it up but it did stick out! The cover made me think it would be a sci-fi romance centric dystopia. I also assumed that it would be weaker in world building due to the romance focus..... I judged wrongly! When I thought sci-fi I thought space etc but it wasn't at all! The romance was a key part of the book but it was built in the background and the world building was fab!


USA!

Judgement- Not as eye catching!I would have assumed it was more dystopia and a lot less sci-fi. I would have thought it was more Hunger Games violence and solidarity whereas Aria and Perry are equal main characters!

France!
 
Judgement- I like this cover but looks a lot more like a sci-fi space story with a female lead! I would have thought Star Trek/Glow style setting and plot.

Germany!
Gebannt: Unter fremdem Himmel (Under the Never Sky, #1)

Judgement- Beautiful cover! It looks like a more nature based fantasy than a dystopia though!
Netherlands! 

Een wereld zonder hemel
Judgement-   The girl is kind of creepy and again I'm thinking Sci-Fi fantasy!

Spain!  
Bajo el cielo eterno (Bajo el cielo eterno, #1)
Judgement- Love this cover! It actually features Aria and Perry who are equally the lead characters, however it does look very wintry!

Final Judgement
I initially preferred the USA one but I slowly converted to the UK one as it was eye catching!
However then I saw the new UK one...
All it needs is both Aria and Perry on the front and it would be perfect!

Which is your favourite?
Which do you think represents Under The Never Sky best?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Monday, 28 January 2013

Monday Round Up!

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey!

Another slow blogging/reading week I was struck down by a toothache! I did how ever have a little readathon on the weekend so I made up for my reading but not my blogging!

Posts!
Top Ten Tuesday- Check out what settings I want to read more of!


Read!
Island of Lost Girls was a completely different genre for me and I could not put this one down!
Speechless was fantastic- review coming soon!

Reading!
Finally got this one yesterday! Loving it so far :)
 
What's Next!
So glad I got approved for this one!
 
How's your week been?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Monday, 21 January 2013

Monday Round Up

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey!
 
Not a bad week! I now have a fixed term contract with my temp job and I spent the last bit of quality time with my best friend before she heads to Oz! Plus it snowed and I spent so many years praying for proper snow that I refuse to let it annoy me :)

I feel like I've hit a January slump with my blogging! The festivities backed up review writing and blog storming so I'm going to take part in Mini Bloggiesta on February 2 and 3 to revive my good blogging habits!
 
Reviews!
Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt - 3 Hearts!

Read!
 
Another good reading week- The Vincent Boys was a fun read and I loved catching up with Quinn and Ben!
 
Reading!
I'm in between books atm! I'm still in limb as I've had to order Through The Ever Night- (I'm determined to buy it from a proper bookshop) and I don't want to start something 'big'....

Coming Up!
Stacking The Shelves- Once I get Through The Ever Night I'm going to do a little book haul!
Top Ten Tuesday- I love the topic this week!
Review- I am determined to post at least one- might do a selection of mini reviews....
 
How has your week been?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxxx

Monday, 7 January 2013

Monday Round Up

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey!
 
Back to normal now! No more bank holidays or big family meals :/ But Bout of Books starts today and I still have my temp job so I'll still be busy :)
 
Posts!
Best of 2012!
2012: A Round Up!
Top Ten Tuesday! 2013 Reads!
Challenges 2013
In Between Seasons Blog Tour!
Back To You by Priscilla Glenn Blog Tour!

Challenge Progress!
Genre Variety Challenge- 1/12
2013 New Adult Challenge- 2/20
Not too shabby- keep an eye on my Challenge page for updates!

Read!
 *For some reason I can't upload photos atm :/ but I read The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski and The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen*
 

Two awesome reads to kick start 2013!
 
Reading!
 Still getting in to this one! Hoping to finish it this week :)

What's Next!
 
This comes out today so I will be buying it and devouring it asap! I'm also taking part in Bout of Books so hopefully a lot of other books will be read to!
 
Upcoming Reviews!
 The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski- Blog tour comes here on Friday!

Upcoming Posts!
Bout of Books- Should have a goal post, a progress post and a wrap up post! 
 
How has your new year been so far?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Monday, 31 December 2012

Best of 2012!

2012 has been a phenomenal reading year for me!
After three years of hard work and partying I regained time for reading- I've read 50 books since June!
So my last post of 2012 is a quick round up of my 2012 favourites! I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

Favourite Debut
I picked this one up with nothing to go by and I loved it!

Favourite Start of Series
Divergent perfectly set the scene and the action for the rest of the series- just need to read Insurgent!

Favourite Standalone
 Morgan Matson is a firm summer time must read for me! I loved all the emotions and memories in this one!
 
Unexpected Favourite
I got this one free when I preordered Sophie Kinsella's latest book- I loved it! Very rarely does a free book surpass the one you paid for!
 
Favourite All Around
Dash and Lily had everything! Humour, sweet moments, stupid moments and action!

Favourite Latecomer
One of my last books of the year and one of my favourite! I'll be reviewing it next year!

The One I Should of Read Earlier!
Everyone's been raving about The Hunger Games for ages and I eventually picked it up in June this year- should have picked it up earlier!
 
Favourite End of Series
I was so happy to finally finish Ruby's story- I've loved her neurotic ways since 2006!
 
Favourite Sequel
I loved If I Stay but Where She Went had a little more resolution and perspective! Brilliant sequel!

Favourite 'Indie' Author
A random download led me to Abbi Glines! My favourite Indie author of 2012 because her books encouraged me to try other indie authors! 
 

Favourite Author
This one was hard! Veronica Rossi wrote a beautifully crafted world, a wonderful prequel and is very interactive! I'm already scouring my local bookshops for a freak early release!


Favourite Genre
 

 Before The Hunger Games I'd had no real interest in Dystopia but now I love it! I love all the different interpretations of the world, the intriguing mysteries and the characters. Not a fan of some of the love triangles but you can't love it all!


What were your favourites of 2012?
Happy New Year!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxxx

Monday, 3 December 2012

November Round Up!

Monthly Feature- rounds up all the books I've read, progress on challenges and reviews my blogging!
It is kind of an expansion (?) of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey!
 
Well I spent the majority of November without my laptop! How does one blog effectively without a home computer? The answer is it isn't possible! I spent a lot of time making use of the library but I'm really disappointed that Dell took so long to fix it!

November in numbers!
Total posts= 15
Books read= 5
Reviews Posted= 6
Meme Posts= 3
Promo Posts= 3
Other Posts= 2

What I read in November!
 


I've got a full time Christmas temp job and my best friend is back from Australia so I've been distracted! 
 
What I Reviewed!
Swell by Julie Rieman Duck. Blog Tour!
Loving Summer by Kailin Gow. Blog Tour

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen. Blog Tour!
Shallow by Georgia Cates. Blog Tour!
Crash by Nicole Williams.

Not too bad on the reviewing front not as great as I'd hoped though!
 
What I Posted!
Lettie Loves!- A post judging some recent Contemporary covers!
Top Ten Tuesday!- Top Ten Contemporary reads of 2012!
Fab Five Friday!- Highlighting some older contemporary reads!
Blog Tours
6 Seconds of Life - Character analysis post!
Cover Reveal
 
Did I achieve my goals?
To successfully host my feature month!-
Thanks to my Laptop fail I didn't really achieve this one! I did keep my blog tour schedule on the whole but my feature posts suffered as they weren't prewritten.
To make progress on my challenges!-
I count Roar and Liv but it was technically a novella... Again poor progress!
To update my blog pages!-
Success! I updated my Ratings page so it's more accessible and clear! As well as updating my Challenge and Books page.
 
What I hope to achieve in December!
  •  Challenges- One last push for 2012 challenges! I also want to sign up for a couple more for 2013 as I'll have a full year to complete them!
  • Reviews- I want to post at least 6 reviews. At least 4 independent of blog tours. I want reviews of books I personally picked up as well as blog tours promoting books I chose to review.
  • Posts- I want to do a couple of discussion and 'Lettie loves' posts just to mix up my blog content!
 
How was your November?
Excited for December and Christmas?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

 

Monday, 5 November 2012

Monday Round Up!

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey!

First week of my feature month has been busy! I went out as a Superhero for Halloween, celebrated Bonfire Night and got a Samsung III courtesy of my generous Grandma who didn't want her free upgrade! I just need to take it to a phone shop and get all my content and contacts etc transferred :)
Blog wise I launched my first feature month and improved my ratings page!

Reviews!
While It Lasts by Abbi Glines- 4 Hearts!

Other posts!
Challenge Update- Self explanatory, a post on where I am with my Challenges!
November Feature- Launch post for my YA and NA Contemporary month!
Cover Reveal- First look at the cover for Rouge by Leigh Talbert Moore

Read!


I really enjoyed Crash- I can see why it has had so much hype! I literally devoured Roar and Liv- I loved their chemistry and the Through The Ever Night teaser left me desperate for more!

 
Reading!
I worked out how to send it to my kindle yay! So far so good :)
 
What's Next!
 
 How gorgeous is the cover of this one? Excited to read it!

Upcoming Reviews!
Swell Blog Tour- Visits this blog on friday!

Upcoming Posts!
Top Ten 2012 Contemporary reads- Check back tomorrow to see my Favourite contemporaries!
Cover Comparisions- Comparision of two very similar contemporary covers!

How has your week been?
Are you enjoying my contemporary month so far?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxxx

Saturday, 20 October 2012

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi


WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.
DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.
Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.
Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.
If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers

This was the first YA dystopia book I picked up by myself without hearing anything about it or seeing it everywhere! I clearly know how to pick them- I loved this book! It was intriguing, well crafted and left me wanting more! At least I'll have Roar and Liv's novellla to tided me over! 

What I loved:
  • Realms- Loved this concept! The idea of virtual reality being an actual future possibility was popular in the 90s so I loved to see it 'resurrected' in this book. It seemed like such a perfect idea to keep people 'safe' while allowing them to 'experience' life. I also loved the issues that arose from living and experiencing life in a virtual reality.
  • Senses- I liked that the Outsiders had a sort of evolutionary advantage. I loved how they were described and depicted. I was so intrigued by the different types and keeping to your own type. Can't wait to learn more! 
  • Aria- Aria initially annoyed me but I grew to love her. I enjoyed how she grew and accepted the changes in her life with maturity. It was so interesting to see her adjust to the real world and real experiences outside of her cushioned life. I also respected how she dealt with all the 'random' events that happened to her without completely going crazy!
  • Relationships- The relationships in this book were well written and developed. I loved how Aria and Perry developed. I liked how Aria and her mother were portrayed through Aria's eyes. Perry and Talon had such a sweet relationship and interesting bond  and I enjoyed the banter between Perry and Roar.  
  • Perry- Like Aria I wasn't his biggest fan- he was quite rough and harsh but at least he had his reasons! I liked how mysterious he seemed to Aria with his heightened senses and different values. I loved how he crafted Aria shoes as gesture of apology as well as how sweet he tried to be about her starting her periods. He was also so self assured and impressive trekking across ground- I'd love to have him guide me somewhere!
  • Roar- Roar provided a sort of foil to Perry. He was fun loyal and more relaxed. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. I liked the bromance and acceptance between him and Perry. I loved how he treated Aria so nicely and looked out for her as well as connecting with her.. I loved his parallel forbidden love story with Liv. I'm excited to read more about him in the upcoming short novella!
What I didn't love as much
  • Vale- I didn't really connect or feel much sympathy for him to begin with and the more I learnt about the less I liked! How can he be related to Perry, Talon and Liv? They all seem like decent people!
  • Consul Hess- Typical power crazed high authority figure! How could he dump Aria outside while his son was the instigator and killer of the incident? He was very callous and selfish about the issues everyone was facing. He was also ruthless and devious with the way he blackmail Aria and dealt with Outsiders.
  • Ward- He seem so weak willed and a bit pathetic. I'm sure he was aware of Hess' deceit/inappropriate experiments but he continued to happily work for him! He essentially betrayed Aria and her mother as Aria was so sure she could trust him....
 

I think I loved this book so much because it was unexpected! I'd never heard anything about Veronia Rossi or the book so it took me by surprise with it's brilliant and unique world building and fantastic characters!
 
Let me know if you loved Under The Never Sky too!
10 days to Roar and Liv!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Minor Characters

 
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish.
This week's topic is: Top Ten Minor Characters

Check out my new header! What do you think of it? It's my very first homemade one :)

I love a well written cast of side characters so this topic is perfect for me! I've tried to vary my favourites between recent and older reads but it was hard as recent reads stick in my mind longer!
In no particular order as always!

 Xander from Matched and Erin from Easy by Tammara Webber
Erin
I loved her character, she was both stereotypical and surprising. As a sorority girl whose dating a frat boy you expect to read either a clever but shallow girl or an airhead with an inflated sense of self- Erin was none of these stereotypes! I liked her defence and encouragement of Jacqueline even in the face of harming her own relationships. I loved how she instantly signed them for self-defence classes and her enthusiastic engagement in them!  I would love to room with her at University, she'd be so much fun!
Xander
I named him as one of the things I loved most about Matched and if I'm honest I think I loved him more than Cassia! There was so much more to him than met the eye. He was perceptive, competitive, loyal but also observant enough to know who or what to be loyal to! Don't know if my opinion will change on reading Crossed and Reached but as it stands I find him to be a good solid male character with value and flaws!

Briony from Amy and Roger's Epic Detour and Jeremy from While It Lasts
 
Briony
She barely had any 'screen' time but she really impacted me! I loved her sunshine attitude and I feel her and Amy could have been best friends judging from the way she changed up Amy's suitcase. I loved her family slogan of Get up Dress up Show up.

Jeremy.
I loved this guy! He was such a good brother and a fantastic support to Eva. I admired how his sacrificed a year of his life to be with her and grieve with her even when he was ready to move on. I really hope we see more of him!
Roar from Under the Never Sky and Finnick Odair from Catching Fire!
Roar
I loved Roar! He is such a genuinely nice guy. I liked the bromance and acceptance between him and Perry. I loved how he treated Aria so nicely and looked out for her. I loved his parallel forbidden love story with Liv. I'm excited to read more about him in the short story.
Finnick
I defy any one who's read The Hunger Games series to dislike Finnick! He was such a conflicted yet intriguing character. I loved him in Catching Fire with his bravado and teasing coupled with his genuine devotion to (name). I liked the development of his character in Mockingjay although it was harsh in ways. I loved his relationship with Katniss and Peeta, he seemed to get them as individuals and as a couple. His own relationship with Annie was so sweet I couldn't;t help but love them.

 
Jonathan from the Song of the Lioness Quartet and Rosto from Terrier
Jonathan.
Who doesn't love a prince? Especially a clever, heroic one! I loved how he grew from an arrogant boy to a mature balanced ruler who could approach situations level headed. He was probably the only character who was liked by almost everyone! I love his bromance with George who was his complete opposite! I
Rosto
I initially liked how much he reminded me of George, a witty thief! I loved how he treated his role as King as caregiver and did his best to keep his people feed. I loved how open he was especially as it annoyed Beka! I loved his affection for Beka- I really missed him in Bloodhound and Mastiff

Genie from Castle in the Air, Howl created by Diana Wynne Jones
 
Genie/Howl
I love his attitude and snarky replies. He really adds to the book and leads  to his goal. The twist in the end is actually why I love him the most because it was glaringly obvious once you read it!
Howl was the quintessential useless wizard! He was a lady's man but incapable of looking after himself. Vain and cowardly but proved himself to be clever and heroic when necessary. The man gave his heart to a fallen star- how can you not admire and love that!

Missing from this post!

Ron and Hermione
Let's be honest they were never minor characters past chapter of the Philosopher's Stone

George Cooper, Neal, Raoul, Nawat, Kaddar etc by Tamora Pierce
I could probably do a top ten minor characters featuring just her books! So I tried to vary my two TP representatives :)


Let me know your favourite minor characters!
Much love!
Lettie!
Xxxx