Book Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.  She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her.  Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit.  But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth:  Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.   

Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening.  And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…

As a special gift to readers, this book contains a new, never-before-published bonus story, “The Vittra Attacks,” set in the magical world of the Trylle.

This book was much, much better than I was expecting, after not having read it from years of adversion. I'd originally seen this book as one of those 99 cent ebooks on Amazon, not knowing that it eventually had been published into a physical book. Because of that, I didn't know if I wanted to read it. I've read plenty of self-published books that make me know instantly why a publisher didn't want it. But, finally, I felt like I was in the mood for just that- a book that relieved my stress from my workload and life in general. It was an easy and quick story that didn't require too much thought from the reader's side. However, it was captivating. However, it was a book that I did need to be in the mood for.

Character time! Let's talk about Finn, the more than slightly creepy love interest! Now, creepy dudes keep showing up so often now in YA books that I got quite desensitized to them. Fictionally, of course. If this actually happened, I would have no problem running and screaming. I did grow to like, Finn, though, as much as I tried to not. His character made it to middle ground for me. I don't hate him- yet. Though the age difference made the creepy-ness worse. She was sixteen and he was nineteen. As in, a college freshman dating a high school sophmore. Eww. 

Wendy's brother, Matt, I was a bit iffy on. At first, I liked him, but then he had this weird, possessive outburst on Wendy and Finn that was borderline abusive. Weird. 

Wendy didn't really stand up for herself. Like ever. She'd be an all right heroine, but then suddenly she'd be back to the girl who just sat there (cough Bella remake anyone cough). Though I was glad that Wendy felt bad about the whole Changeling thing just to steal their money. That family didn't need anything else to deal with. Wendy did have an emotion for about 2.5 seconds, don't worry. But instead of fighting it, she just kind of went with it. "Stealing? Eh, whatever. I heart you, Finn, don't worry." Accurate, let me tell you.

If you don't mind insta-love, than this book is for you. Now, you have to keep in mind, though, that this book was published by the author herself, selling it for like 99 cents originally. I got it for free from the library, don't worry. I do have Wake on my Kindle, which does seem like a better series by Amanda Hocking. 

All in all, this wasn't that bad of a book, you just had to be in the mood for a book that was bland and took no mentally capacity. It was still a good read in my mind and I'll most likely pick up the sequel, Torn.

Over and out,
Nerdalicious

Book Reviews

#

172 Hours On the Moon by Johan Harstad
5th Wave, The by Rick Yancey

A
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephenie Perkins

B
Blood Red Road by Moira Young

C
Champion by Marie Lu

D
Darkest Minds, The by Alexandra Bracken
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The by Laini Taylor
Diviners, The by Libba Bray
Dream Thieves, The by Maggie Stiefvater

E

Evolution of Mara Dyer, The by Michelle Hodkin
Elite, The by Kiera Cass
Eye of Minds, The by James Dashner

F

Forsaken, The by Lisa M. Stasse

G
Girl of Fire and Thorns, The by Rae Carson

H
Host, The by Stephenie Meyer

I
Icons by Margaret Stohl
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

J
Just One Day by Gayle Forman

K

L
Lonely Hearts Club, The by Elizabeth Eulberg

M
Madness Underneath, The by Maureen Johnson
Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza
Me, and Earl, and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

N
Name of the Star, The by Maureen Johnson

O
Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz

P

Paper Towns by John Green
Pulse by Patrick Carman
Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Q

R
Rebel Heart by Moira Young

S
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Switched by Amanda Hocking
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

T
Taken by Erin Bowman
Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

U
Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The by Michelle Hodkin
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

V

W

X

Y

Z

Vampire Academy, Divergent, and More: Movie News!

Let the rebellion begin, tributes! Natalie Dormer has been cast as Cressida in Mockingjay Part 1 & 2, the final book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. Cressida is a former Capitol citizen who joins the rebellion and is by Katniss's side, filming her for Plutarch. Cressida has a shaved head, so I'm curious to see if the actress with chop it all off. She also stars in 'Game of Thrones' as the character Margaery Tyrell.

A Vampire Academy trailer was released not too long ago as well. There are six books in the series; the author is Richelle Mead. As having read the books, I'm still not sure what to think of their protrayal, but I guess I'll have to read them again (and naturally, write a review). You can watch the trailer here:

A thirteen second teaser was released for Divergent by Veronica Roth on August 22nd, and on August 25th, there is supposed to be 'something big' coming for the fans. I'm assuming it is the full trailer. Once the trailer or whatever-it-is is released, I will edit this post and add it on.

And now the full trailer:

Speaking of Shailene Woodley, John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars, recently had an interview with People magazine and disclosed information about what he thought about the auditions for the roles of Augustus (Ansel Elgort) and Hazel (Shailene Woodley). He gave advice for beginner writers, books that influence him to write, and which scene from TFiOS will be his favorite to see on-screen. Here is the entire transcript of his live chat. John Green is heading out to Pittsburgh for the first day of filming, which is August 26th. Green is also going to have a cameo in the movie. Shaliene Woodley has chopped her hair off for the role of Hazel as well.

I've come across quite a few people who have yet to see the full-length trailer for Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, so here it is. A Victor Banner was released for promotion for the November release, which is posted below the trailer.

In case you haven't heard, Ben Affleck has been cast as Batman for the new 'Man of Steel' sequel.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones was released on Wednesday, but I have yet to see it (don't panic, I've made plans to see it this Saturday). I think once that happens, I'll do a duo review for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and City of Bones. The sequel is set to start filming soon.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak has a trailer! Watch it below.

Stephenie Meyer is 'over' Twilight, but I don't blame her. I just want her to write the sequel for The Host.

As you can probably tell, there is even more book-to-movie news than just this, but I feel if I posted all of it this post would go on for a mile. If you want to stay updated, I highly recommend following @PagetoPremiere on Twitter or keep tabs on their website, www.pagetopremiere.com

That's it!

Over and out,
Nerdalicious

Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

I love John Green. As an avid Nerdfighter and lover of Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars, and An Abundance of Katherines, I think he's awesome. I've been putting this book off for a while now, though. I've been told that it wasn't as good as TFiOS or LfA, so I didn't really want to read it right away. However, I'm glad that I have, as it is an excellent novel that didn't let me down.

When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.










One of the main things I love about John Green is how dynamic his novels are. Sure, the plots can be repetitive (Seemingly normal adventure where the protagonist goes on a spirtual/physical journey-for instance, breaking into Sea World.) However, they still manage to capture my attention. This novel is sprinkled throughout with Green's ideals and thoughts, but smoothly covering them up with a more boyish/clever comment.

I felt like the main character, Q, was a bit obsessive over Margo, but I think Margo wanted him to be that way. She wanted to be the main mystery in his life. That was what kept her originality intact- the fact that she wasn't there to change his view.

I liked how the image of how we see people was woven in. Quentin sees Margo as this elegant, mysterious girl, like she's a painting from the 1400s who's painter died just seconds after completing his masterpiece, never able to explain it. It's up to Quentin to discover that Margo isn't such a big mystery after all. She's just a girl. That's another thing that is often over-dramatized in books. All of the characters have this big, complex character developments and defining moments, but think about it- are you a 'complex' character? Are you making huge revelations day by day, accompanied by snarky comments to "flaunt" your personality? No. We're people, and authors sometimes forget who humans are at there essence. We're simple with layers that have accompanied us through the thick and the thin. Our layers don't disappear or change us. They stay through everything.

Even we ourselves see ourselves differently than we are at our core. Does thinking that we're smart and doing "smart" things make us smart? Does partying make us careless? Our actions are supposed to define us, but do they really? Or is it just something in the heat of the moment, something that gets us swept up into the moment. It's like doing something because all of your friends like it and not all of that has bad consequences. An intellectual television show to a raging party. Both of those situtations make me wonder if the person likes it just because they actually enjoy it or how society will perceive it. They could think they like it and not actually know. I know a fair few amount of people who won't like a simple funny or light movie/book just because it's not "cool" because "they're too intellectual for that".

Overall, it was a very good novel that would allow the reader to take from it whatever they wanted. Obviously, I got onto a psychological-society rage, and I'm slightly sorry. (Only slightly, I'm still glad my opinion is out there and being read by my cat and my cat alone.) I was pleasantly surprised by the book, though. If you haven't heard of John Green, you should definitely pick up any of his books (the three mentioned in the intro and the one this review is over) and also go to his YouTube channel and join his million other lovers.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Over and out,
Nerdalicious

Cover Talk: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Oh man, what a babe. This cover was released today, July 31, in case you missed it. This is the third book in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.

I rather like the color scheme for this. I feel like the red (a constant theme through the three covers) is a nice touch to the long hair, which is supposed to be Repunzel. I feel like the blue will be very pretty on bookshelves.

I'm glad that they haven't had a cover change for these books yet. With more than just these three books planned for the series, I can see a cover change coming in the future, although I really, really like these covers. This cover makes me already excited for Cress.

Along with the release, a Q & A, and an excerpt was released from the author. The full article can be found here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/07/31/cress-book-cover-excerpt-reveal/2600463/

Over and out,
Nerdalicious

Book Review: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

'Member when you were a kid and everyone said how they wanted to go to space and be an astronaut? No. Just no. After reading this book, I simply want to never, ever leave my room and pretend that that didn't just happen.

It's been decades since anyone set foot on the moon. Now three ordinary teenagers, the winners of NASA's unprecedented, worldwide lottery, are about to become the first young people in space—and change their lives forever. Mia, from Norway, hopes this will be her punk band's ticket to fame and fortune. Midori believes it's her way out of her restrained life in Japan. Antoine, from France, just wants to get as far away from his ex-girlfriend as possible.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, but little do the teenagers know that something sinister is waiting for them on the desolate surface of the moon. And in the black vacuum of space... no one is coming to save them.

In this chilling adventure set in the most brutal landscape known to man, highly acclaimed Norwegian novelist Johan Harstad creates a vivid and frightening world of possibilities we can only hope never come true.

Now, don't get me wrong. This book was fantastic. But it was just so, so creepy and scary. The scenarios that the author created were so realistic and unexpected. The beginning of the book was very timid and fun, to the end which was down-right nightmarish. (Okay, maybe not to most people but I'm a wimp.) If this book hadn't been as light in the beginning, I doubt the end would have been as chilling.

I feel like this is a "You love or you hate it" kind of books. If you go onto Goodreads, you will see mostly negative or neutral ratings, but I thought that it deserved much higher for what it sparked within me.

The characters and the story line were so well-crafted that I really can say no more about this book. It was creepy, it was fantastic, and it will stay with me for a long time.

(That ending blew me away. I'm just so confused!)

Rating: 5 out of 5 creepy stars

Over and out,
Nerdalicious

Book Review: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

This book took me a long time to read. Originally, I had gotten it from the library, but as it happens, I had to turn it back in before I could read it. It took me buying a nice copy from Half-Price books and it sitting on my shelf for a few weeks before I read it, and let me just say, this is definitely the book to read if you are suffering from any sort of book hangover.

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we? I thought (for the first about 100 pages) that this book was really slow. It wasn't that the scenes were action-packed and quick, it was more that I didn't feel anything for the characters. I did think that her mind-erasing skills were the bomb though. I could easily picture being so scared if that had happened to me. 

The symbol for the odd children, the Psi (the symbol on the cover), I found to be really cool. I liked how the children really took it back for their own use.

I loved the color-categorization thing they had going on. This particular aspect actually took me awhile to figure out, but once I did, I really liked it. Instead of having scientific names, they used colors for each power. Now, Ruby is an Orange, which is sort of a mind-based power. She can erase memories, plant ideas, and the like. She pretends to be a Green (something to do with photographic memory, I believe) so that she won't be killed (the Oranges are, obviously, viewed as dangerous by the government.

Once I clicked with Ruby, I really liked her as a narrator. I loved the scene were she and Zu were in Walmart, walking around and taking clothes and whatnot, because, let's face it: we all want to run around Walmart doing whatever we want. I liked how accepting Zu was of Ruby into their group.

Let's move on to the annoying characters. Annoying character #1: LIAM. I was all right with him as a character until he became the love interest (not much of a spoiler, trust me). It just makes me so sad to think that I already know that she's going to end up with Liam and ugh. JUST GO AWAY. Literally, I've read so many characters that are just like him. I'm seriously contemplating contacting Alexandra Bracken through her Tumblr and demand that they not end up together.

Chubs was just kind of there for me. I did like how he hated Ruby though, for a good hunk of the book. I was like, "YES! YES. YOU GO GIRL!"

Character that I love but everyone else hates and he's going to be just like every other could-be character out there: Clancy. This book went like way, way up when he showed up. I hate how he literally has no chance with her because, "Oh! She has LIAM LIAM LIAM. Congratulations to the happy couple." So frustrating.

(IT WAS A WARNER-JULIETTE-ADAM relationship ALL OVER AGAIN. Kill me. Why do I always get the unwanted guy on the love triangle?)

That ending had me close to laughing but the sad part is is that Ruby will spend the next to books pining over the boy she can't have. Never heard that one before.

It's not that I didn't like Liam as a character, I just didn't like him. Simple.

I'm sorry that this became a rant about Liam, but it was needed. Clancy could have so much character development and potential (but that would just be a crazy thought, wouldn't it? Let's not push those boundaries, kids.) 

The ending, I thought, was quite good, but I was so mad about the Clancy sitch that I just couldn't even. 

Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars (CLANCY!)

Over and out,
Nerdalicious