Tea Party Blog Tag

In celebration of their 3rd blogoversary, The Notebook Sisters are hosting a week-long Alice in Wonderland-themed blog party.  To begin the festivities, they've invited other bloggers to play Tea Party Blog Tag.  Check out their blog to learn how to play.


Let's have some tea!

1. Just Alice: What book cover(s) has made you super curious?

Dream Boy by Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg.  A YA paranormal romance without a girl in a pretty dress on the cover?  Colour me intrigued.

2. Mad Hatter: List the craziest character(s) you've ever read.

I would, but the telling you about the craziest character I've ever read will be a huge spoiler if you ever read the book.

3. Red Queen, Off With Your Head! What book have you felt like beheading?

Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle.  My review sums up why I hated this one so much.

4. White Rabbit: What books or series have been insanely popular but you've been "late" to pick them up?

I was late to the party for the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor.  I still haven't read the second book, even though I loved the first.

5. Caterpillar: What's the most confusing book you've read?

More Than This by Patrick Ness.  It was confusing because I was never sure what was really going on and also because lots of people think it's amazing.  Did I miss something?

6. Dormouse: What was the last book that sent you to sleep?

If a book is that boring, I generally won't even finish it.  However, audiobooks sometimes put me to sleep.  The last one that did was Gossamer by Lois Lowry.

7. Cheshire Cat: Book that made you laugh and smile?

Forrest Gump by Winston Groom.  I read it many years ago, and I still remember laughing out loud.  The sequel is also pretty funny.

8. Knave of Hearts: Most recent character who stole your heart?

I had to go all the way back to last September for this one: Li from The Lake and the Library by S. M. Beiko.

9. Jabberwocky: Best villain you've read this year?

Ty from Stolen by Lucy Christopher.  He was more than just a one-dimensional bad guy, and I liked that.

10. Down the Rabbit Hole: What's the latest book/series/author that's completely swallowed your interest?

I haven't been really sucked in by anything since I read Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies last year.  I'd love to read the prequel and sequel one day.

In My Mailbox (68)

Bought from Amazon.ca:

Neverland
by Anna Katmore

Why is there a boy who doesn’t want to grow up? How can an apple start the sweetest romance in fairytale history? And what does a ruthless pirate have to do with it all?

Angelina McFarland loves reading fairytales. But she never dreamed of falling right into one herself. That’s exactly what happens when she slips on her balcony and a flying Peter Pan catches her mid-fall.

Ending up in Neverland where no one seems to age and laws of nature are out of control, Angel has no idea how to get home. Worse, the ruthless Captain Hook captures her and keeps her trapped on his ship, the Jolly Roger, where she gets caught between the lines of a timeless battle. But the more time Angel spends with the captain, the more she sees beneath his ruthless façade.

As Angel desperately tries to find a way to return to her real life, she discovers a train ticket to London in her pocket. It won’t be any help in getting off the island, but as her memory fades away the longer she stays, this is all she has left to remind her of her former life and why she can’t give up trying.

Or is staying in Neverland forever the better choice after all?

Grab a happy thought and follow Angel on an adventure that will keep you breathless and smiling long after you read the last page...

Borrowed from the library:

The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare
by M. G. Buehrlen

For as long as 17-year-old Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past. Visions that make her feel like she’s really on a ship bound for America, living in Jamestown during the Starving Time, or riding the original Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair.

But these brushes with history pull her from her daily life without warning, sometimes leaving her with strange lasting effects and wounds she can’t explain. Trying to excuse away the aftereffects has booked her more time in the principal’s office than in any of her classes and a permanent place at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Alex is desperate to find out what her visions mean and get rid of them.

It isn’t until she meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about her, that she learns the truth: Her visions aren’t really visions. Alex is a Descender – capable of traveling back in time by accessing Limbo, the space between Life and Afterlife. Alex is one soul with fifty-six past lives, fifty-six histories.

Fifty-six lifetimes to explore: the prospect is irresistible to Alex, especially when the same mysterious boy with soulful blue eyes keeps showing up in each of them. But the more she descends, the more it becomes apparent that someone doesn’t want Alex to travel again. Ever.

And will stop at nothing to make this life her last.

The Dream Thieves
by Maggie Stiefvater

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse

When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring.

Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the environmental--and emotional--turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength.

What was in your "mailbox" this week?  Let me know in the comments!


In My Mailbox was started by Kristi of The Story Siren.

Weekly Recap - May 18-24, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Sunday - I posted the contents of my "mailbox".  I got two new books this week, including World After, which I've been wanting to read for a while.

Monday - I reviewed World After by Susan Ee and gave it three ladybugs.

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week's topic was books about friendship.

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books About Friendship

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books About Friendship.  These books may not be all about friendship, but I tried to pick books that featured strong friendships:

Imogene and Maxine from The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint

Birdy and Aelis from Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

Charlotte and Emily from Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Miller

Karou and Zuzana from Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Ella and Areida from Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Emily and Ilse from Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery

Ramona and Daisy from Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary

Jane and Clovis from The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee

Michael and Mina from Skellig by David Almond

Wren and Tess from Wren to the Rescue by Sherwood Smith

Review - World After

World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2)
by Susan Ee
Date: 2013
Publisher: Skyscape
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 438
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I read Angelfall last year and, while I didn't think it was the greatest book I'd ever read, I found it very entertaining.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I liked it as much as I did.  I've been putting off reading World After for a while.  It seems that I'm often disappointed with sequels, and I was afraid that would be the case here.  While I was somewhat disappointed, the disappointment wasn't as great as it could have been, and it wasn't enough to make me give up on this series altogether.

What we have here is a good example of Second Book Syndrome.  While the first book had less-than-horrible writing, a decent plot, and some intriguing characters to help drive that plot along, this second installment in Penryn's story is lacking in a few ways.  First, the writing isn't quite on the level of the first book.  There are numerous typos and punctuation errors that I would have liked to see caught before this went to print.  Second, the plot itself is a bit weak.  It seems like there is a lot of aimless wandering about.  I finally realized that Penryn's goal is to find her sister... but it's almost disguised behind a lot of day-to-day survival struggles with the Resistance, seemingly gratuitous horror scenes, and Penryn's wistful memories of Raffe.  Which brings me to what I think is the biggest weakness of World After: Penryn and Raffe don't even interact with each other until almost three-quarters of the way through the book.  If, like me, you enjoyed their banter in Angelfall, you might be in for a bit of a disappointment here.  I can think of a number of series or trilogies that have a forced separation between the characters in the second book (Twilight, Wondrous Strange, Evermore).  I've yet to read one where I thought it worked well.  When Penryn and Raffe do finally get back together, it's nice to see them interact... but it's also so close to the end of the book that much of the remaining action feels rushed.  There are also a few plot points that are tied up a little too neatly and conveniently for my taste.

The pace seems a bit off.  Much of the story moves along fairly well, but then -- rather inexplicably -- it'll come to a snail's pace.  The scene with Penryn and Raffe eating cereal and peanut butter -- where every mouthful and finger lick is noted and described -- could've been shortened considerably without losing anything (other than perhaps a few eye-rolls from frustrated readers).  The fight scenes (and there are lots) move more quickly, but they have problems of their own.  Surprisingly, Penryn's memories of Raffe (which stand in for actual interaction between the two for most of the book) aren't as slowing to the flow of the story as I might have thought.  Though, overall, I did tire of Penryn's continual waxing poetic about Raffe's hotness:

He looks at me with those killer eyes in that perfect face over his Adonis body.

Seriously.  That's an actual quote from the book.  I guess I can cut Penryn a bit of slack, since she is only seventeen and I probably would have had similar thoughts at that age about a gorgeous supernatural being, but her metaphorical drooling is almost to the point of being unintentionally amusing.

For all its problems, though, I found World After as weirdly addictive as I did Angelfall.  I will most likely pick up the third book in this series, whenever it happens to be released.

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Editing: 3/5
Originality: 4/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.29 out of 5

In My Mailbox (67)

Bought from Amazon.ca:

The Sweetest Spell
by Suzanne Selfors

Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher's daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman's son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances once tempted her to believe she might someday be loved for herself. But others will stop at nothing to use her gift for their own gains-no matter what the cost to Emmeline.

Magic and romance entwine in this fantastical world where true love and chocolate conquer all.

World After
by Susan Ee

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

What was in your "mailbox" this week?  Let me know in the comments!


In My Mailbox was started by Kristi of The Story Siren.

Weekly Recap - May 11-17, 2014

Here's what I blogged about over the last seven days:

Sunday - I posted the contents of my "mailbox".  I got one new book this week.

Tuesday - I participated in the Top Ten Tuesday meme.  This week we listed the books we almost put down... but didn't.

Saturday - I reviewed The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle and gave it 4 ladybugs.  I really like verse novels!