A Trip to the Beach!

Being summer there is one place perfect for reading...

THE BEACH!

I'll be going to Orange Beach, Al for a week as a counselor for a church group. While busy, it's going to be a lot of fun. Music, worship, friends, and lots of beach!

While packing my LARGE suitcase I couldn't help but have a debate on what book (or books) to take with me. There is something relaxing about getting to read while watching the waves crash against the sand. I know I will have a full schedule while I'm there, but hopefully I will find sometime to slip in a bit of reading. If not on the beach, at least on the balcony of our condo.

Being at a church camp means little time for internet. So sadly, I won't be posting anything for a week or a little more. I have my review typed up for Icons and Rebel Belle, but I haven't had the time to sit down and post it on here. Look forward to seeing these when I come home! I'll post them as soon as I get a chance.

Before I leave I have a question for you! When you go on a trip, do you have a favorite book to take with you? If so, what is it?

I would love to hear from you, so leave a message below!

Happy reading!

The 5th Wave

              THEY KNOW HOW WE THINK.

              THEY KNOW HOW TO KILL US.

 THEY'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING WORTH LVING FOR.

NOW THEY'VE COME TO TAKE THE THINGS WORTH DYING FOR. 

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains.

After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th Wave, just one rule applies: trust no one. 

Now it's the dawn of the 5th Wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from them. The beings who only look human, who ram the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. to stay alone is to say alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother - or even saving herself But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Author: Rick Yancey 

Page Count: 457

Genera: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Horror

Series? Yes (Book 1)

  Well, The 5^th Wave was not exactly what I had imagined. To be quite honest I didn’t know exactly what to expect before reading considering I have never read an alien invasion based book. Sure, I have seen plenty of movies such as, Independence Day, War of the Worlds, and Battleship, but I have never really cracked open a written work based on superior beings coming to Earth.

  When it comes to aliens, this is what I think of:

1. A friendly alien like ET wanting to phone home. 

2. Aliens flying around in UFO’s looking to destroy the world. 

3. A mad man with a blue box.

   After reading The 5^th Wave, I now have a new view of aliens and their plans to take over Earth. In my opinion, this story completely goes off the charts with its invasion. Rick Yancy has created a story where the aliens kill the humans, but not with the normal UFO’s or creepy alien robots. This book takes it on a whole other level. I won’t go into too much detail in this review because I would hate to spoil the thrill for those who have yet to read it.

    Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot. I felt like the beginning was slightly confusing at first. Mainly because the reader is just thrown into the center of the main conflict without really knowing what is going on yet. However, after a little reading I was able to find the light at the end of the tunnel, or at least I thought I had. If you begin reading this book and you start off confused as well, don’t worry! Things get clearer a few chapters in.

   The story does switch point of view between the main characters. I believe there are 4 views in total, 2 of which get more “screen time” than the others, but I felt like the voices of the characters were strong. Each character in this story is facing struggles during a pretty devastating event, and although it’s the same event, they have different obstacles to overcome. It’s interesting to see how each person reacts and thinks.

   There are a few cliché moments in the story, but on the bright side, I feel as if the execution is actually pretty well done. For those looking for a bit of romance along with a good actions story, this story has it. The romance is not a huge part of the story, but the element is there.    

   When it’s all said and done, I just have to say I would recommend reading this book. It was entertaining, and kept me at the edge of my seat until the very end. I cant wait to see what the next book has to offer!

Any thoughts on this story?

Tuesday..

So this post is going to have 2 different parts!
     Part 1: Top 10 Tuesday!
     Part 2: My next book!

Since making this blog I have been told to try memes to keep things fun, so the first one I am going to participate in will be....

                          TOP 10 TUESDAY
                      Created by The Broke and the Bookish
 
This week they are asking for the top 10 books read this year. So here are mine..

1. The 5th Wave, by: Rick Yancy
2. Anna Dressed in Blood, by: Kendare Blake
3. The Hunger Games, by: Suzanne Collins
4. Catching Fire, by: Suzanne Collins
5. Mocking Jay, by: Suzanne Collins
6. Divergent, by: Veronica Roth
7. Insurgent, by: Veronica Roth
8. Allegiant, by: Veronica Roth
9. Mark of Athena, by: Rick Riordan
10. House of Hades, by: Rick Riordan

I know, most that are listed belong to the same series, but I had a slow year of reading. But that is going to change this year!

Now for the next part of this post..

For my next book I have chosen,

Rebel Belle
by: Rachel Hawkins

I have heard a lot of positive things about this book, so I'm looking forward to reading it. Actually, I haven't heard any negative reviews on it. If you have read it let me know what you thought of it!

After the Invasion..

June is here and that means farewell to my May Invasion Month! Since I'm currently making a new post, that means I didn't get abducted.....or if I did they brought me back.

  I had a great time reading a new species of books for me. I'll be sure to pick up more alien books now that I know they aren't something horrible to read.

The two books I read, The 5th Wave and Icons, were both extremely interesting and kept me entertained during May.  The review for The 5th Wave is up, so feel free to head on over to the Review page to check that out. The review for Icons is coming shortly. Hopefully in the next day or two.

I am hoping to read at least another 2 books this month, but first I need to pick what books to read. I have so many I haven't read yet it's hard to decide where to start! Oh the decisions!!

If everything goes to plan, I'll be posting what book is next to be reviewed by at least Tuesday.

Now time for some lovely questions for my lovely readers:

• Have you read The 5th Wave or Icons? 
• If you have, what did you think of them? 
• Any suggestions on what book I should review next? 

Now go grab a book and get lost between the pages!

Invasion of the Month!

   So apparently this became alien invasion month! Not something I would have ever imagined myself saying. I have never been a huge fan of invading alien stories, but after reading The 5^th Wave, I’m branching out a bit. 

    I found an article that talked about The 5^th Wave. Not an actual review, but just a brief summary of what to look forward to while reading. On that same article was supposedly a book similar to The 5^th Wave. Once again, I have found a book I know little about. Actually, I know nothing about it, because I have never even heard of it! So here is my next book to review:

Icons

By: Margaret Stohl

According to the article, if you like one you will like the other. Each have the same basic idea of aliens invading Earth, but one is different from the other. The 5^th Wave was a bit more dark compared to this novel (or at least that is what the article said).

Unlike with The 5th Wave, I have not heard any good or bad reports from my friends, nor have I taken the time to research it. (not something I normally do. I like to be prepared). So I am going into this one blind. **shivers** 

I finished The 5th Wave and the review for that is coming shortly. I was on a mini vacation last week and didn't take the time to type up the review before starting this new book. 

Time to get lost between the pages, talk again shortly!

Review for both books coming soon! 

Gotta Start Somewhere..

  So after a lot of consideration, I have decided on my first book for my first book review on my first blog! (That is a lot of firsts!)

  After hearing some pretty good feedback for this book from other readers it peaked my interest. Then a few friends have read it and enjoyed it, so I have broken down and decided to actually give it a try.

My first review will be on:

The 5th Wave
by: Rick Yancey

  I personally didn't know much about this book at first, but after looking into it a bit I have developed an interest in it. I am anxious to see how this story will be. By the description the author gives us, I am pretty much hooked. I just hope it doesn't fall short of my expectations or the praises I have heard/read.


So if you want to read this book with me, grab you a copy and feel free to read along.

Review for this will be coming soon!

Well, Hello and Welcome!

  If you are here reading this, then somehow you have found your way to my very first ever blog! While this may not seem like a big deal to you, for me it is a very BIG deal.

  I have wanted to start a blog for a while now, but I could never find the right motivation or inspiration to actually start one. But, as you may can tell, this has changed. I now have an idea for a blog that I believe I can work with.

  You may be asking yourself, what is this idea she speaks of? Well don't worry, I'm going to tell you!

Drum roll please.... BOOK REVIEWS! 

  I know this is not an original idea. If you look through a few blogs for reading you will see a large number of book review blogs out there already. However, I want to take a crack at it myself and have my own little corner of the web to express my opinions on the books I have read and plan on reading.

  Since this is my first time actually blogging, it may take a bit of time to get the ball rolling, and even if it is rolling, to have a smooth road for it to roll on. So bare with me if you can. 

  I hope to make this fun for all readers, and I can't wait to really get this moving! 

 Although this blog is meant for book reviews, don't be surprised if you see a few random topics on here that I just felt like covering. This is very likely to happen considering I can be quite random. I will try to keep everything book related, but sometimes I tend to run with other ideas. Or better put, sometimes they just grab my hand and pull me along. 

 I might want to warn you, although I plan on covering a bunch of different types of books, most will probably be YA books. I may be too old for them, but whatever, you can sue me. Adult books are a good read, but somehow they lose the magic and adventure that YA books have. 

  So anyway, I guess that is all I wanted to say to welcome you to this blog! I hope to hear from some of you that actually take the time to read my ramblings.

 Information about my first book review will hopefully be coming soon, so keep tuned!

~Lauren