Review: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Out of the Easy

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Edition: hardcover

Series: none

Released Date: February 12th, 2013

Publisher: Philomel

Goodreads / Amazon 

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. 

She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

Josie's life is interesting. She loves books and works at a bookstore, she longs for the life of a college student, she helps with madam Willie, and her mother is a prostitute. Josie attempts to live her life as normal as possible, like falling in love, making friends, and getting out of her small town.

I didn't have strong feelings for Between Shades of Gray like everyone else did. I'm not a big fan of historical fiction. I had checked out this book from the library just to have it in case I ran out of books at some point. Instead, I started reading good reviews about it and decided to put it towards the top of my to-read pile. I have to say that I'm glad I picked it up.

This book reminds me quite a bit of the first book of This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Despite the fact that Paradise is set in the 1920's, and Out of the Easy is set in the 1950's. It was just the college life in both of the books that reminded me of one another. I'm one of those girls that wishes she went to a big private school and can't wait to go to college. I love settings and characters that are elite, exclusive, and gorgeous. When Josie started talking about college, and her friend Charlotte, I feel in love with the book even more.

On the contrary, this book had a lot of deep and heavy things to it. There were hints of murder, suspicion, abuse, prostitution,

I liked the aspect of madam Willie and the whore house. That sounds really bad, now that I type it. But I like the fact that Josie didn't let herself get wrapped up in it. She was a young, respectable lady. She accepted the fact that she was closely tied to Willie, but she didn't fall into the trap that was laid out for her.

The sense of romance in this was a nice touch. It wasn't overpowering! Josie was more focused on things in her life OTHER than boyfriends and falling in love. The small romances she had were cute, and I liked how her relationship grew at the end. It was a good touch and it seemed to complete the book.

Then there were the minor characters. There were so many amazing characters in this book besides Josie. Willie, her best friend Patrick, Cokie, and Jesse. They were all amazing and I wish I could read more about all these wonderful characters.

Honestly, I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It had a lot of things in it that I wouldn't expect myself to like. Somehow, with it all weaved together, I ended up loving this book a lot. I think I'm kind of obsessed with the 1950's, because I keep looking up outfits and people from that decade.

If you enjoy books, you'll like this one. I seriously don't think there was something in this book that someone wouldn't fall in love with. This book was simply fantastic and I can't wait to read more of Ruta Sepetys' work.

Stacking the Shelves #26

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves was inspired by the In My Mailbox posts over at the Story Siren. Due to current issues, I've decided to switch over to Stacking the Shelves! Here's the books and swag that I've recently received!

Library
Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally
Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Stung by Bethany Wiggins
Imposter by Jill Hathaway
Furious by Jill Wolfson
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer L. Smtih
Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini
My Life After Now by Rebecca Verdi
The Vincent Brothers by Abbi Glines

I'm Sorry.

I apologize.

My lack of blogging has come as a shock to myself, and I apologize for that.

April was a crazy month for me. ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. There was something going on every weekend, and I rarely was at home until late at night. The first week of April was easier. That first weekend I got to go visit the college I want to go to for the second time. Then the following week was prom week. I conducted this year's prom at my school, and that was tough. I felt I didn't have much help from other students and could only rely on parents. Anyways, then it was prom weekend and it was all fine and dandy. The following week was used to prepare for my state forensics meet, in Madison, WI. On the 19-20th, I was down in Madison and received a silver at the state level. The week after that got HECTIC.

I work at a local pizza place and have been since last August. They were building a new Maurices store in my area, and just decided to apply. Well I got the job, and I was required to train, roleplay, and help set up the store. I was gone EVERY day between the 21st - 30th. It was a crazy experience, but it was well worth it.

Within April, I also received two more jobs. I am now the student correspondent for my school at one of the local radio news stations, and I am required to write weekly articles and air them on the radio. Additionally, I am now a young adult book reviewer for a book store near me.

Oh, and I also got National Honor Society president, Senior class representative, and Senior Class President.

Yeah, so it's been crazy. I've had very little time to read, blog, or even talk to people on Twitter. I've been trying to keep up with Instagram so people can see what I'm up to, but even that has been lacking.

Anyways, I'm coming back.

I told myself that I would start blogging again when May starts, but I'm already off to a bad start seeing as it technically started yesterday. I may not be able to get in a post every day, but I'm hoping that it will start to become more regular.

Also, if you're a part of the Just Read It! Book Club, there will be more information coming, regarding what we are going to do.

Thank you so much to all my followers and for making me want to start blogging again. I can't wait to talk with all of you again!

Review: Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Title: Let the Sky Fall

Author: Shannon Messenger

Edition: hardcover

Series: Let the Sky Fall #1

Released Date: March 5th, 2013

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Goodreads / Amazon 

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is.

Seventeen-year-old Audra is a sylph, an air elemental. She walks on the wind, can translate its alluring songs, and can even coax it into a weapon with a simple string of commands. She’s also a guardian—Vane’s guardian—and has sworn an oath to protect Vane at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing her own life.

When a hasty mistake reveals their location to the enemy who murdered both of their families, Audra’s forced to help Vane remember who he is. He has a power to claim—the secret language of the West Wind, which only he can understand. But unlocking his heritage will also unlock the memory Audra needs him to forget. And their greatest danger is not the warriors coming to destroy them—but the forbidden romance that’s grown between them.

Audra has been serving as Vane's guardian angel since the last time she saw him when his parents died. Vane doesn't remember Audra, but he constantly sees her in his dreams and thinks she sees him. Finally revealing herself to Vane, Audra has to train Vane for the battle in which 

How do I even begin about this novel? Well first of all, it's about sylphs. That's awesome, because I love reading about different mythologies. Heck, I have never even read about sylphs before. My knowledge on the subject was very limited because of that, but I still was able to catch on quickly with Shannon Messenger's easy to understand, yet wonderful writing. 

The romance, oh wow. So I'm the type of girl that gets butterflies in my stomach when I'm reading about other cute moments. Usually I get them when I read about a first kiss or the first profession of love. With Let the Sky Fall, I found myself having butterflies many times throughout the novel. Of course I got them during their first kiss, but I also found myself getting butterflies when these characters would simply think of each other. It wasn't that crazy-obsessive love, but a sweet and gentle love that they would prefer to keep to themselves in order to survive. Regardless, the instant they said those three words I was flying all over the place. Audra and Vane's forbidden romance was wonderfully amazing. It's as simple as that.

All throughout the book there was something going on. I think that was due to the dual POV. I felt that there wasn't much of a slow part. There was multiple scenes that developed the rest of the story for the characters. Like Vane's date in the beginning of the book shows that he's just a normal guy. Well, at least he thinks it is. Then there's the date later on in the book, when he's mad at Audra. It shows that he will be vulnerable for people he cares, but puts up a wall afterwards to protect himself. Each step Vane took developed him more and more.

With Audra, she was a pretty consistent character - right up until the last few chapters. Audra refused to let herself be with Vane. She kept her boundaries, but found herself letting her own walls crumble down. She was a strong character. Audra was able to take a stand and hold herself in very human-like situations. At some times she was really cold because of her father's death, but other times he was very sensitive and found herself crying.

Everything about this novel was fricken fantastic. There was a lot of twists and turns, and a lot of things were revealed at the end of the story. The characters and plots brought out so many emotions to the surface, and I sincerely can't wait to read the sequel. Kudos, Shannon Messenger!

Waiting on Wednesday #43

Waiting on Wednesday is a feature used to tell everyone about the books you're waiting to be released! This feature is hosted by Breaking the Spine. Every week I choose a novel that I'm anxiously waiting to read and be released! Leave your link in the comments and I'll check yours out as well!

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown
Released Date: May 21st, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send." 

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look. 

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have yet to read anything by Jennifer Brown, but all of her books look good! I've also heard some pretty good things about this book! I'm excited for it! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where you post the 'top ten' for each week.

This week, the top ten is: ten books that I read before I was a blogger. There are a couple of these, but I have a feeling it will be difficult remembering if I read them before or after blogging!

1. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. So this was my magic book. I was obsessed with this series and read it twice. 
2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I really liked this one, but I feel like I didn't like it as much as everyone else did!   
3. The Clique Series by Lisi Harrison. This was one of my guilty pleasures when I was younger. I was faithful to this series for SO LONG! 
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Well I read the last two when I was a blogger, but I did start this series before I started blogging! So happy the movie is being made!  
5. Graceling by Kristen Cashore.  This was one of my favorites right before I started blogging. I read the last two when I was in the middle of my blogging, but this one kind of kick-started my blogging experiences.
6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This whole series was amazing to me before blogging. It still has the same impact on me now that I'm blogging! 
7. House of Night by PC Cast. Everyone and their mothers has started this series at some point. I think I only got through like 6 books though and then I got too bored and gave up. 
8. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. Okay, not just Along for the Ride, but almost ALL of Sarah Dessen's books. I just have to read Keeping the Moon, and I read What Happened to Goodbye while I was blogging. 
9. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. This is one of those series that just died out for me. I think this series is still continuing?
10. Gone by Michael Grant. Bleh, this series just went on and on and I got bored with it. 

I feel like a lot of these were series! And the fact that I started them over 2 years ago and they're STILL making them kind of makes me lose faith in them. Anyways, this was fun looking through my read list and finding the ones with dates before my blog started! 

Review: Also Known As by Robin Benway

Title: Also Known As

Author: Robin Benway

Edition: none

Series: Shatter Me #2

Released Date: February 26th, 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury Juvenile

Goodreads / Amazon 

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

Maggie is a spy. It's as simple as that. She enjoys cracking safes, picking locks, and getting into other secure places. Usually she's been helping her parents with these things, but now she's received her first assignment. Maggie moves to New York in order to swipe some papers from a man who's going to reveal Maggie and her family's secret to the world. But then the man's son, Jesse Oliver, is just too adorable and find herself not pretending to fall in love with him, but actually doing it.

I always like spies, even though I haven't had a chance to read them. I like the thrill that the characters receive when they're on the mission. That's why I liked the Heist Society series so much. Sadly, in Also Known As, there wasn't very many exhilarating moments where Maggie was on the verge of being caught or anything like that. I kind of wished there was, just to prove that Maggie actually WAS a spy. It just seemed like it was a title given to her that she never did anything with.

Regardless, Maggie was a fun character. Imagine going to a private school (I love the ideas of private schools. I always wanted to go to one) in the middle of New York. It would be a dream come true! But Maggie is supposed to just pretend to be friends with people, like Roux. But Maggie has troubles doing it. I'm sure that if I were in her position, it would be impossible not to get connected to these people. Especially characters like Jesse Oliver and Roux.

Jesse Oliver, ahh, yes. So it's kind supposed to seem like he's a bad child or something, like he skips and steals. Honestly, he doesn't really fit the description. Jesse is popular, but he's also very sweet and caring. Truthfully, he's a big ole softy. But I liked him. I didn't fall for him like Maggie did, but I do approve of their cute and adorable relationship. Honestly, they were so fricken adorable together that I was smiling for most of their scenes.

Maggie also connects to a girl named Roux. She's got a bit of a spunk to her, which makes Maggie and Roux's conversations pretty memorable. It was almost hard not to get attached to Roux. She's a pretty strong character, seeing as she keeps her head high. I mean, she seems to be pretty gorgeous, but everyone at their school hates Roux because she once stole a girl's boyfriend.

The one thing I didn't like was the absence of a "bad guy." Sure, Jesse's dad was the bad guy because he was going to reveal the spy's secrets, but it wasn't developed. He was never around and you never figured out any hidden motives or things like that. 

I think the reason why I liked this so much was because of the plot and the whole idea of the book. I love spies, private schools, funny parents, and a feisty friend and Also Known As seemed to have all of this! There were a few things that lacked in the book, but you don't really notice them until after you finish reading. If you're looking for a quick and light read that will make you smile and giggle, then this book is definitely for you!