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Friday, April 27, 2012

Peachy Feature: Feature & Follow # 1 Disappointing Character?

Feature and Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can ReadCheck out their blogs to learn more about the rules and to eventually join in!

I really love this Meme, it is a perfect way to put yourself out there as a blogger and meet new bloggers as yourself! If you would like to follow me, you can do this through GFC (Google Friend Connect) or via email!
Make sure to notify me once you have followed me (by posting a comment below the blog post) so I can check out your FF and follow you back :) Also let me know if you have taken my button, I would love you grab your button as well and place it on my blog!

So let's start! The question for this Friday is:

Q: Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then "broke up" with later on in either the series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.

I had to think quite a bit for this question, but the more I thought of it, the more I decided that the character I chose for this question was the most suitable one.. and that character which disappointed me the most towards/at the end of the series is Gale from The Hunger Games. Without spoiling anything, I feel like this character's presence faded (for me) in the series, especially towards the end of Mockingjay. I was just so disappointed how he ended up to be at the end of the book that it was almost shocking!

And may I just add, the movie of The Hunger Games made me dislike Gale more... I try not to get too influenced by movies which are produced from books or let it cloud my initial perception of the book, but I just found it so corny and overdone when almost every time Katniss and Peeta had a romantic moment, they showed Gale's 'sad' and 'disappointed' face... I almost wished that the they hadn't included that. But I guess the producers were trying to throw some humor in the whole story, as it is honestly filled with mostly drama (which I like)!

What do you guys think?

Thursday, April 26, 2012

New Insurgent Update


So all you Divergent die hearts out there, are you ready for the second book, Insurgent, to come out next Tuesday, May 1st? Well then I found a special treat for you! Have you read the book quite a few months ago and have you forgotten some of the essential details and what specifically happened towards the end of Divergent? I got to admit, the end was pretty chaotic for me! So if you do not have time to re-read the book before Insurgent comes out, the author Veronica Roth set up something very smart for her readers in order to refresh their memories

She set up a guide which includes facts about all of the characters which came forth in Divergent, major important plot points, and most importantly, where the characters ended up at the end of the book.

I found this such a terrific idea of Veronica Roth, and I wish all the authors with series would do this! What's a more perfect way to get the readers back into the hype and most of all, in Tris' world! This definitely helped me remember things that I may have forgotten along the way and helped me prepare for Insurgent, coming out in a matter of days!

You can read the guide here! Enjoy!

Warning: there will be spoilers in this guide so do not read if if you haven't read the first book out of the series, Divergent. 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday #1



Waiting on Wednesday will be a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases which I'm eagerly anticipating!

This week's "cant-wait-to-be-read" books are:

Rebel Heart (Dust Lands, #2)
Title: Rebel Heart
Series: Dust Lands #2
Author: Moira Young
Pages: 448
Expected publication date: October 30th, 2012 | by Margaret K. McElderry

Warning: This description contains some spoilers for the first book, Blood Red Road.

Description from Goodreads: The Tonton have been defeated. Luch has been rescued. The heartstone has brought Saba and Jack together. Now, Saba and her family head west to meet him and start a new life. All should be well. But shodows of the dead are stalking Saba. And another kind of shadow is creeping over the dustlands. Then a messenger shows up. With news of Jack...


I can't wait!~ Well, I have to admit, the description doesn't reveal a great deal... but it still got me really excited! After reading the first book of the Dust Lands series, Blood Red Road, I was just AMAZED! This is so different from all the other dystopian books I have read so far, but OH MY what a good book this is!! This book had me by the first sentence, and the action started immediately in the first chapter! It was a non-stop roller coaster of craziness! Every chapter had something exciting and thrilling to it, FORCING you to want more and more. If I did not control myself, I could have easily read this book in two days, if not less! I was hooked!

I simply can't wait for the Rebel Heart to come out! I am so, so excited for what there is to come and what more adventures are around the corner. I just can't believe we still have to wait SOOO long!! It wont be out until October 30th this year, so still a far way ahead, which is driving me completely nuts!! But it will be something to countdown to and look forward to!!

Review coming soon!...

Something a bit more around the corner:
Insurgent (Divergent, #2)Title: Insurgent
Series: Divergent #2
Author: Veronica Roth
Pages: 525
Expected publication date: May 1st, 2012 | by HarperTeen May 1st 2012 by HarperTeen

Warning: This description contains some spoilers for the first book, Divergent.

Description from GoodreadsOne choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.


I can't wait!~ From my post "A Special for the Divergent Fans", I think you all have already gotten the impression that I'm completely psyched for this book to come out!! And I simply can't believe that in a matter of 5 days it will be out! The moment it comes out I will RUN to the bookstore! The first book, Divergent, was amazing and there was definitely somewhat of a cliffhanger at the end of the book so I can't WAIT to find out what happens next!! [To read my Divergent review click *here*]

That was it for this week's "Waiting on Wednesday"!

Until next time Peachy Readers!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Music Monday #1

As you all know I am only a beginner, and now I am looking for new and more features to enhance my blog :) As you can see from my Divergent Book review, I have started out vlogging... and I want to continue searching for more things which will make my blog more interesting for my readers!
So I will be starting MEME's!

This Meme I found through Goodreads by a book blogger called Zowee's Bookshelf! I am not sure if it's originally hers, but when I saw it on her blog I found it a very good idea!

So here are the rules. You can either:

1 . Choose a song you find most fit to a book you have read, or
2 . Find a song which fits to a specific moment (long or short) in a book you have read

For this Monday, I will be choosing a song which I find fits most to a book I have read.

Song Title: Safe & Sound
Artists: Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars
Production: Big Machine Records, LLC
Book association: The Hunger Games Trilogy                                                             



This song reminds me of... you have probably guessed it... The Hunger Games trilogy! This one was obviously very easy to correlate with the books, as this is actually the soundtrack of The Hunger Games... so I cheated a little ;) But I love this song, and I want to share it with all of you readers who have not heard this song yet!

This is a beautiful but melancholy song. It really makes you picture every dramatic moment in the book (which basically is the entire book!). I think Taylor Swift did a great job. And the video clip of course is also very stunning, full with symbolism relating to the books.

What do you guys think about this song and its relation to The Hunger Games?

Until next time Peachy Readers!

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth


Rating:
Title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
Author: Veronica Roth
Pages: 487
Publishing date: May 3rd 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books

Synopsis:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Veronica Roth is the New York Times bestselling author ofDivergent, the first in a trilogy of dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.


Overall, Divergent was a great book to read! I rate this book readable and a 5/5!
Run to your bookstore right now and purchase this before the second one comes out in 8 days! Believe me, you will not regret it!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Power of a Great Book

First of all I would like to apologize for my small hiatus since my last post! I have been so extremely busy with moving out of my studio, as I will be moving to London in a matter of 3 weeks! Also had a finance exam (mmm, my FAVORITE...) which occupied most of my free time! So: not a lot of reading, thus no new book reviews written yet :(  But hectic times are finally cooling down, permitting me to start writing more posts and reviews!!

Unfortunately this time I will not provide you with an amazing update of a book, or simply a book review... but instead I would really like to talk about an picture I found on the web the other day which I found very interesting and found myself relating to it...

This picture basically portrays how a book can extract you from your current life, and make you imagine a complete different world in your mind. It makes you escape reality for just that moment and engage into the book's adventures. I have not always been much of a book reader. The reason for this, I would like to believe, is that I have never really been familiar with which books intrigue me and I was never really aware of the fact of how books can genuinely influence you and put you in a better mood but also help you excel in any way possible by exercising your brain to think of everything but the ordinary. Once I started picking up reading again (since my English class in High School... oops!), I was just surprised of how much I actually enjoy reading and I almost hit myself in the head for not persuing in these books any sooner.
But none the less, here I am, reading great books again and starting up a blog revolving around nothing but these peachy books ;)

How do you feel about reading and what do you think about when you see this image?

Thank you so much for the increasing followes! I very much appreciate the attention from each and everyone of you!


Until next time Peachy Readers!

Friday, April 6, 2012

A Special For The Divergent Fans!


If you are a true fan of the Divergent book and of Veronica Roth, you know that in 24 days (May 1st) Insurgent is finally coming out! I actually only read the Divergent book 2 months ago, so I did not have to wait extremely long. But for those readers that have read it the moment the first book came out (May 3rd, 2011) had to wait quite a while... and that is... HARD TO DO!!
But only a few more days readers! And then we get to indulge ourselves in the harsh but adventurous dystopian world (set in Chicago), and we finally get to find out what is going to happen with Tris and Tobias (aka Four) now that the factions are crumbling!!

A new ROMANTIC teaser has just been revealed! I'm extremely excited now!


Here is a awesome teaser which will tantalize your curiosity and make you even MORE excited and anxious for INSURGENT!



If you loved The Hunger Games, and you're starting to show withdrawal symptoms in need for more of that dystopian, rebelious, adventurous, romantic, madness!? Then I can gaurantee you that Divergent is the next book for you!

Here is also a short preview of an interview with Veronica Roth herself!

Love triangles do seem to be popular these days...
Yeah, they are and I think they can be great. But Tris is just not the kind of character who would be divided in that way. For me, it was always clear that there was not going to be a love triangle for her.
Will readers see new and different parts of this dystopian Chicago?
One of the wonderful things abut the second book is that Tris becomes more free to explore the city she lives in, whereas in the first one she had to stick with her faction. Her experience with the world was limited, and it becomes wider in the second book.
Do the Hunger Games comparisons bother you?
The Hunger Games is pretty fantastic, so I always get a little scared when people make those comparisons because I think, "Well, I never tried to do that..." And it's so good that it's a little daunting to see those comparisons out there. But at the same time, it's pretty incredible that it's done for the genre and for my book's visibility. Also, if you're going to be compared to something, it might as well be The Hunger Games because it's really awesome. At least it's not something I didn't like.  
Will this current series just be a trilogy, or do you feel like it could grow to be a quadrilogy or spin off other books? 
I never rule out anything out, but I'm sure that Tris' story will only be three books. Right now, that's the plan.
Read the rest of the interview here. It's super interesting and it's always lovely to read more about the author who wrote one of your favorite books! For those who have not read the first book, Divergent, may not want to read this as it may contain some spoilers!

P.S. **REVIEW OF DIVERGENT COMING SOON**

Until next time Peachy Readers!

Peachy Book Haul for April!

                                Currently Reading   Currently Reading  

As you probably have already noticed on my blog (on the left column) I am going to be reading two books in this current month:
  • City of Ashes  by Casasandra Clare- the second book to The Mortal Instruments series
  • Delirium  by Lauren Oliver- the first book in the Delirium series.
I extremely enjoy books which have a great story to them (who doesn't??) and most of all when these stories are elongated in multiple sequels! The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare currently has 6 books (which I think remains this amount, correct me if I am wrong), thus there will be an abundance of enjoyment and wonderful imaginitions created in my head when egaging more and more into these books!

I recently finished the 1st book of the series, which was a fun, adventurous, and a great page turner and easy read. The story itself excited me and the twist in the end made me want to continue reading the next book. I have also heard from other readers that they thought the 2nd book was even better than the first, which really makes me happy!

I will therefore begin reading the 2nd book from The Mortal Instruments series which I will give a review on once I have finished it! I am quite busy with studying and moving out (I am moving to London in a month!!) so I am not sure how long I will take reading this book, but I think that also really depends on whether this book is truly page turner as most readers have claimed. Nonetheless, the synopsis once again intrigued me as the first book did, so I have no doubt that this book will be a quick read!

After I have read the City of Ashes, I will continue with Lauren Oliver's first book of the Delirium sequel called... (can you guess it?)... Delirium! I am really, really, really (really, really, really!!) excited to read this book as I am completely crazy about dystopian novels and the heroin of this book sounds amazing! She sounds like the heroin which I completely adore (brave, strong willed, and powerful in her own ways). I also enjoy books more which are written in the first person, as in my opinion only then can the reader truly put him/herself in their shoes and actually read exactly what the heroin is feeling!
Here are some of my favorite praises for Delirium:


"Delirium will tug at your heart and make your pulse race. This book reminds us that life is about more than simply existing: it's about understanding you have to experience pain in order to fully appreciate joy." --Justine Magazine 
"Those looking for romance and an action-packed dystopian tale should pick a copy of this novel"-- MTV 
 "Oliver's deeply emotional and incredibly well-honed prose commands the readers' attention and captures their hearts. With a pulse-pounding tempo of unforseen twists and turns, Lauren Oliver has opened the door on fatastic new series; the second book can't come soon enough"-- New York Journal of Books

As the New York Journal of Books states, "Lauren Oliver has opened the door on a  fantastic new series".    That is something which I really urn a book series. A book which makes you desire for more and more and makes you want to grab the sequel and relish yourself deeper into the adventurous world of the story the author so dearly creates!

I am super excited with these books and I can't wait to give my reviews and ratings on them and to let you know what I thought of them!


**Let me know in the comments below whether you have enjoyed these books (or not?) and why (without spilling any spoilers) you would/would not recommend these books to someone!


Until next time Peachy Readers!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Book Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare


Rating: 
Title: The City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1)
Author: Cassandra Care
Pages: 496
Publishing date: March 27th 2007


Synopsis:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.