Feed by Mira Grant

Genre: YA - Scifi, Dystopian, Political Thriller

Rating: 4 stars

Review: This book is one of those books that I find hard to review for some reason. Obviously, as I've given it 4 stars, I enjoyed it and liked it. I thought it was a fresh new idea, and the writing is great. I was entertained all throughout, but I did have some slight issues with it.

I'll start with the good though. Like I already mentioned, the original concept, plot, and solid writing were all there. I thought it was brilliant how the author took many different aspects from various genres and sub-genres and mixed them all quite perfectly. I was reading scifi, thriller, mystery, dystopian, political thriller, horror all in one book. I thought it was also cool how it wasn't necessarily a "zombie" book, but a political drama set in a post zombie-apocalyptic world. I found this part unique and engrossing, as well as incredibly smart. And I have to admit, it's not that often that I read a book that challenges me to think outside the box, and it's nice to finally read one that does just that. I also thought that the plot developed well - quick enough not to get bored but slow enough not to feel rushed or anything. All of these reasons that I just mentioned made me want to give it a full 5-star rating.

However, the reason why I could not give it that, was because of the main character. I DID NOT LIKE HER AT ALL! I tried to; I really did. But she was just such an elitist and a self-important teenager. She had that, "Oh I'm way better than you, so shut up and listen" attitude that I obviously didn't find appealing. She was way too snarky, annoying, and negative for me! I felt miserable reading about her to be honest. And you all know I love strong female characters - but to me, she was just a 'hard' character, not necessarily a strong heroine. The rest of the characters were okay - my favorite was Shaun, the brother - even though I didn't particularly find them memorable. I thought their personalities didn't really shine through as much.

Despite that, I enjoyed this book a lot - also liked how it ended. I do think its greatest strength was the author's way of creating, exploring, and sharing the uniqueness of her invented world. She was also able to take a somehow overused, popular creature - like zombies - and turn them into something new entirely that I think many would appreciate.
I would recommend this to fans of the whole dystopian, post-apocalyptic sub-genre, and if you enjoy a good political thriller every now and then. However, if you are looking for a regular zombie novel - the flesh eating menaces; blood, guts, and all - you might not like this as much. For me, I thought it was a well-written, well-researched novel that I definitely enjoyed! I just wish the main character was more likable. I will definitely reach the sequel for this one though - heard it's told through the brother's point of view! That should be good.

Watchers by Dean Koontz

Genre: Fiction - Thriller/Science Fiction/Semi-horror

Rating: 5 stars

What I Loved: Dean Koontz is simply a master at story telling - he manages to excel in taking an original and highly interesting concept and building an effortless story around it, without it seeming overdone or contrived in any way. And he is excellent at building extremely likable and lovable characters that one can't help but root for. I for one, found myself involved with each character, and found myself loving certain ones. I don't think I have ever been this attached to an animal character, since watching the film, Homeward Bound. This made me want a Golden Retriever even more than I did before.
As for the pace, I thought it was great. The writing - flawless. It just flows perfectly - never a boring moment! At times, I just found it hard to put down since I was so engrossed. And believe me, I've lost a few hours of sleep over this! (That could be a bad thing, of course, especially if you have to wake up early in the morning)

What I Kind of Didn't Like: I have to admit there were a few chapters here and there that I could have managed without. If the author (or perhaps his editor?) took out some random tidbits that I thought weren't really "necessary," the story would have been shorter and more straight- to-the-point. Don't get me wrong though; this wasn't really a deal breaker for me, and it didn't turn me off from the book in any way.

Overall: Despite the minor flaw - that I honestly think is just me nitpicking - I can't even begin to explain how much I enjoyed this book! If you are looking for a book that is entertaining, intriguing, exciting, fun, adventurous, scary, heart warming, and creepy all at the same time, read this. If you want excellent story telling with memorable characters, check this out.
I would recommend this to all readers - mostly fans of General Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, SciFi, and the like. Overall though, I think any reader would appreciate this.

books I got this week.

I'm doing two book haul memes this week again. In My Mailbox, from Kristi from The Story Siren and Bargain Book Bonanza from Baja Greenawalt's Cozy Book Nook.

I am excited about this mainly because I finally went to a bookstore! Granted it was a 35 minute drive but it was so worth it. I could have gotten more, believe me, but I tried to control myself. Maybe next week ;)
My purchases this week were all recommendations from other people, so I can't wait to dig into these.

Feed by Mira Grant - Young Adult/Horror/Thriller/Dystopian? ($3)
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - Mystery (my first from her! And only a $1)
Lightning by Dean Koontz - Horror/Thriller ($2)
Intensity by Dean Koontz - Horror/Thriller ($2)
The Lost World by Michael Crichton - Science Fiction/Horror/Thriller ($2)

As you all can see, I have a bit of a theme going on this week - the scare yourself to sleep and get nightmares kind. Hope you all have awesome books this week too. Link up below!

Also, please note I am having a book inspired jewelry giveaway going on right now! Open to US, UK, and Canada. They're lovely. Check it out :)

book inspired jewelry giveaway for YOU! [CLOSED]

You guys! I am so excited to share with you all this giveaway! It's a really nice, pretty prize that I think any book lover would appreciate. And if you like book inspired jewelry and trinkets - mostly Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and many others too - then this is exactly the giveaway for you!

1LuckySoul, a creative seller at Etsy, was very generous enough to offer you a chance to win ONE item of your choice from her shop! She features a wide variety of beautiful, vintage-looking, book inspired jewelry. She also does offer some that aren't from books; but you just have to see for yourself.

To enter, all you have to do is comment below with this format.

Name:

Email:

Blog URL (if you have)

What item would you most likely get if you won? (see her shop)

Some important things:

1. You do have to be a follower, as I really want a reader of this blog to win.

2. Please take a look at her Etsy shop first before you enter the giveaway please.

3. If you don't want to share your email here, that's fine too. Just leave your blog URL and I'll find a way to contact you if you win.

4. US, UK, and Canada only.

5. Giveaway ends June 24.

Other than that, that's it. Have fun browsing her shop and enter the giveaway now!

hop. HOP. hop. HOP.

Welcome to my blog! If you came here from the Book Blogger Hop over at Crazy-for-Books and Follow Friday from Parajunkee's View, thanks for visiting! This is where I talk, rant, rave, and gush about all things, books!

This week:

Jennifer asks, "TBA"

And Parajunkee asks: "The magic book fairy pops out of your cereal box and says, 'You and your book character can switch places!' Who are you going to switch with?"
Such a fun question! I would definitely exchange with Hermione Granger. Who else??! I mean, she not only is best friends with the Boy who Lived, but is also actually "with" Ron - who is one of my favorite characters! Hermione is also pretty, smart, sophisticated, and independent. She's a cross between a tomboy and a normal girly girl, a wizard and a Muggle! Also, she's one heck of a strong female heroine. Love her!

--

Make sure to check out my book inspired jewelry giveaway going on! Also check out my most recent posts. And I would love to check your blog out as well, so please leave your link here if you can. Also, visit me on Twitter! Happy Friday, everyone!

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult - Fantasy

Rating: 4 stars

Review: I really enjoyed reading this one. It was just such a fun read! Rick Riordan, as always, does it again. The plot was interesting, the characters were fun, and there were plenty of action and adventure around for everyone. I especially like how the author is able to mix in the perfect amount of Egyptian mythology 'lessons' to fiction, without it sounding like it's coming from a boring old textbook. I liked the balance between the two, and being that I don't know much about Egyptian mythology, it was just so interesting to learn from this book.

I have to say though, I thought at times that the main characters/narrators were basically the same characters. Riordan alternates the narration between them two, and gives them a good amount of personality, but I still felt like I couldn't tell them apart. They also weren't that lovable or likable, and so even though I liked them, I didn't end up rooting for them all the way.

Having said that, I still thought it was an entertaining read. The pace was perfect, the writing was good as always, and the plot development was flawless. If you like Riordan's usual style, you will definitely enjoy this. I highly recommend this also to MG/YA readers.

On Body image and How Books Helped.

"My stomach is too big."
"I have to lose 10, 20, 30 pounds in two months."

"I look fat in this dress."

"Don't take a photo of me!"

Sound familiar? In my head, for the longest time, they were all I knew. 

It took me a while to get to the conclusion that these feelings are normal, and that it's okay to feel these things. I do realize though it's something that we should try to stop feeling consistently. 

First off, I didn't always have body image issues, and this whole thing only started when I was around 16. I was one of those girls that developed a bit later on. With that came natural weight gain. Being that I was such a skinny girl when I was younger, everyone noticed the difference. Everyone.
In fact, everyone still comments on it to this day. Just recently, someone commented on a photo of mine posted and said I was too big. 
Suddenly, 125 pounds with a pear-shaped/hourglass figure for 5'1 was fat. I was very insecure, and self-conscious. Though I didn't go as far as starving myself, my confidence in myself went down the drain. I didn't want to have my pictures taken or wear anything that would show off my body. I would avoid going out with friends, and hated seeing someone I haven't seen in a long time. I always had this nasty whisper in my head telling me that everyone is staring and judging.

So at the end of the day, I usually just go home, stare at myself in the mirror, and hate myself. After that, I usually pick up a book just to keep my mind off the day.

Now these past couple of months, I have been reading books related to body image. I thought that it was so comforting that I could relate to these characters, despite the fact that they are fictional. While reading and discovering more about these characters and their stories, I began to take a good look at myself. What really was wrong with me? Was it the 125 pounds or my mind thinking so badly about myself?
It was a rough time, but going through that journey with these stories in these books made me start to gain back that confidence that I lost. Sure, it's harder some days, but overall, I have been a lot happier rather than down on myself. feeling happy and content.

Some of the books that I specifically read were Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Skinny by Ibi Kaslik, Life Size by Jenefer Shute were just some... even books like Willow by Julia Hoban that deal with body image and self-esteem in general helped.

These were the ones, among others, that hit me right on the head, and made me realize that I am lucky that I at least have a perfectly functioning body. It made me realize that it's only me to blame if I put myself down because of one person telling me what they think I look like. After all, I should know what I look like. I should know what's healthy for me, what I truly should change, what I should keep, and what I should not even bother with.

These were the books that made me start thinking a bit more clearly. It reminded me that 'real bodies' come in all sizes. It reminded me that as long as you are healthy, nobody can tell you, "You're fat" or "You're too skinny." And whenever I feel that tiny pang of body-hate anyway - because let's face it, those feelings and thoughts are simply inevitable - I try to remind yourself that someone thinks I'm beautiful. At least one person. And the only way other people can start seeing the real you, is if you start believing that too.

If you have any other recommendations for books that deal with this issue and the like, please let me know on the comments below. Of course, Random Ramblings is always open for discussion as well. And also, as always, thanks so much for reading.

waiting on wednesday.

I don't usually join in with this meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, as wonderful as it is, just because I typically am not "waiting" for books to be released. I feel like I have too many books on my TBR list that I have to pay attention to first, before looking at soon-to-be released books. But I will make an exception for this book, because I absolutely loved the ones that came before it.

I won't give a synopsis since it'd be impossible to do so without giving away any spoilers from the first two books, but I absolutely can't wait for The Death Cure! The Maze Runner was so amazing, and the sequel of it felt so incomplete - I just want to find out what happens next.

What are you waiting on this week?