I am excited that I have been mailing out a lot more books than I am getting in!  I’m trying to not buy books right now because I have so many to read that I really want to read.  It’s hard because there’s always good stuff coming out, but I am learning to be more patient.  Now I just need to get out of my reading semi-funk and read more!

Books Read:

The Kid Table by Andrea Seigel – This didn’t really work for me.  I have a big family and am still stuck at the Kid Table despite being close to 30 so I thought I would relate, but I didn’t.  The family wasn’t very likable and didn’t seem to like each other all that much.  The sections of the book were weird, like an issue comes up, then it’s resolved… the next issue comes up, then it is resolved.

The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Bk 1) by Rick Riordan – I LOVED this!  I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series and I liked that this was back in that world with new characters.  I really liked all three of the main characters.  I am sad that we have to wait another year for the next installment!

Eleventh Grade Burns (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Bk 4) by Heather Brewer – Still loving this series.  I really like Vlad and his friends and family.  This book was really good!  I’m a little sad that I am so close to the end of the series!

Jane by April Lindner – This was really good!  It wasn’t as good as Jane Eyre, but it was a good modernization.  There were times I really liked Jane, but I was really frustrated with her for the 3rd 4th of the book.

Feed by M.T. Anderson – This was good.  Weird, but good.  The language took a bit to get in to.  The concept was really really interesting and it made me keep reading because I just wanted to find out what would happen next.

Twelfth Grade Kills (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Bk 5) by Heather Brewer – I am kind of sad that this series is over!  I really liked Vlad.  The last book was really good – lots of action and twists.

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Click here to learn more about it.

Books Received:

• My Invisible Boyfriend by Susie Day (PBS Game)
• Jane by April Lindner (PBS Game)
• Annexed by Sharon Dogar (Borders)
• The Compound by S.A. Bodeen (Borders)
• Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green (PBS FIFO)

Books Mailed:

• Intertwined by Gena Showalter (PBS FIFO)
• Hemingway in Love and War by Agnes Von Kurowsky (PBS FIFO)
• The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez (PBS FIFO)
• Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson (PBS FIFO)
• Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer (PBS FIFO)
• Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill (PBS FIFO)
• Betrayal in Death by J.D. Robb (PBS FIFO)
• Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb (PBS FIFO)
• Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (PBS FIFO)
• Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti (PBS FIFO)
• Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer (PBS FIFO)
• Jane by April Lindner (PBS Game)
• Swim the Fly by Don Calame (PBS FIFO)
• Halo by Alexandra Adornetto (PBS FIFO)
• The Kid Table by Andrea Seigel (PBS FIFO)
• Feed by M.T. Anderson (PBS Game)
• Shadowland by Alyson Noel (PBS FIFO)
• Switch by Carol Snow (PBS FIFO)
• Close Quarters by Emma Harrison (PBS FIFO)

Books Read:

No and Me by Delphine de Vigan – This book is really hard to describe, but I really liked it.  Lou was insightful and wise beyond her age, but there were still moments that make you remember how young she is.  I warmed up to No as the book went on.  Her story was so interesting.  I loved the impact she had on Lou and Lou’s family.

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles – This was alright.  I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.  I really felt like the book should have been longer because everything happened too fast and some of the twists (which were interesting) could have used more explanation.  There’s another book in the series now, so maybe more is resolved there.

Elixir by Hilary Duff - I will admit that I pretty much only picked this up because of the author.  But I was still a bit disappointed.  I didn’t really know much about the book, but if I had, I probably would have left it.  I’m not going to give it away, but I generally don’t like the type of supernatural that it is.

Tenth Grade Bleeds (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Bk 3) by Heather Brewer – Still loving Vlad and friends, though I didn’t like this one quite as much as I loved the first two.  Vlad was a bit too whiny and there was less action in this book until the end.  But I still love this series and am excited to read the last two in the series!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi over at The Story Siren. Click here to learn more about it.

Books Received:

• Slam by Nick Hornby (PBS FIFO)
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (PBS Game)
• Twelfth Grade Kills (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Bk 5) by Heather Brewer (Amazon)
• Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill (PBS Game)
• The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Bk 1) by Rick Riordan (Amazon)
• Beat the Band (Swim the Fly, Bk 2) by Don Calame (PBS Game)
• The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, Bk 2) by James Dashner (Amazon)
• How to Be Good by Nick Hornby (PBS FIFO)
• Fly on the Wall by e. Lockhart (PBS FIFO)
• Fire Study (Study, Bk3) by Maria V. Snyder (PBS Game)

Books Mailed:

• Cake Wrecks by Jen Yates (PBS FIFO)
• No and Me by Delphine de Vigan (PBS Game)
• Rich and Mad by William Nicholson (PBS Game)
• Elixir by Hilary Duff (PBS Game)
• Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles (PBS Game)

Ninth Grade Slays (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Bk 2) by Heather Brewer – Love it!  I don’t know why I like this series so much, but I do.  I think part of it is I am enjoying books with male protagonists right now.  Vlad is awesome.

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien – Fantastic book!  I loved the story and I loved Gaia.  I was a bit sad at the end – the ending was very abrupt and a little disappointing compared to the rest of the book.  There’s definitely room for a sequel and I hope there is one!

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard – I pretty much picked this up because of the show on ABC Family.  I didn’t love the book, but I like seeing the stuff they changed in the show.  I will probably keep reading the series.

Books Received: 6

• Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz (PBS Game)
• Constellation Chronicles by Vincent Lowry (PBS FIFO)
• Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora by Philip Hinchcliffe (PBS Friend)
• Devilish by Maureen Johnson (PBS Game)
• Forgive My Fins by Terra Lynn Childs (PBS FIFO)
• Birthmarked by Caragh M. O’Brien (Amazon)

Books Mailed: 5

Zen and Xander Undone  by Amy Kathleen Ryan – This book was okay.  It was another book that the sibling relationship frustrated me quite a bit.  I kind of felt like the story meandered for a while before it got to the plot/resolution.

Breathing by Cheryl Herbsman – This book was hard to get in to.  The extreme southern accents took some getting used to, despite the fact that I have a southern accent and know people that actually talk like the characters in the book.  Savannah was kind of frustrating.  I hated how she was so dependent on Jackson to be her everything.  I didn’t think she really learned to “breath” on her own by the end.

Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Bk 1) by Heather Brewer – I am not a huge fan of vampires, but I loved this book!  Vlad is awesome.  I really liked how he was down to earth and just kind of normal in a “I’m secretly a vampire way.”  I also liked that HE was the sidekick and Henry was popular instead of the other way around.  I have the next two books in the series and can’t wait to read them!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han – I wasn’t a fan of this at all.  Belly was obnoxious and the “romance” was pretty lame.  The book was set at the beach but didn’t really feel like it was.

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker – At first I was pretty annoyed with Quinn, but she grew on me.  She was so stuck up about what music was “good” and I didn’t like the way she didn’t like Penny, Chrissy, and Russ because they were in a sorority/fraternity.  I did like that she grew up in the book and became a lot nicer by the end.  I ended up liking the book.  It was a quick two hour read.

Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer – This was okay.  It kind of felt all over the place, but I guess in the end it was about acceptance.  I think.  The “romance” felt kind of like a last minute addition and the book probably would have been better without it.