Review (#15): Legend by Marie Lu

Legend
by Marie Lu
5/5 Stars!!
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.
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"Every day means a new twenty-four hours.  Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time" - Day, Legend by Marie Lu

I have really got to stop judging books by their covers.  I admit, that is my downfall when I come to books.  Honestly, by the cover of this book, I probably would of never picked it up.  I was at the library the one day and saw it there, and I was like, heck, I might as well give it a try.  And thank goodness I did.

Lu packed so much action into Legend that my hear was constantly racing.  June and Day are such kick ass main characters.  I know the world they live in isn't that great but I would love to be able to be like them.  Day is denoted as a "criminal" but when you really see things through his eyes, you see that he's not that bad.  He's never tried to kill anyone and is such a sweet and caring person.  June was honestly hard to read at first.  She first came off as an unruly teenager that did things for attention but we got to see a lot more of her than that.

I love the dual point of view, seeing through both June and Day's eyes.  We got to see a whole lot more and I feel as if I really connected with both of them, not just one or the other.  We could feel the way that June really analyzed things, surveying details, and looking at outcomes that could come from her actions.  We also get to see into why Day is doing what he is doing.

Lu is great at providing details and I really could envision this Republic that they are living in.  From the poor sectors to the rich sectors, I could perfectly envision what everything looked like from the details. We can also really see how messed up this Republic is and what they are doing to their people.

This novel from Marie Lu is incredible and I would honestly recommend it to anyone.  I could not put it down and it kept me turning the pages.  There was so much action packed into these 305 pages, that never for a moment, was I bored.

Hitting Shelves Today! [13] (Credit to IceyBooks!)

Out of Nowhere
by Maria Padian
Goodreads

Out of the Easy
by Ruta Sepetys
Goodreads

Pivot Point
by Kasie West
Goodreads

Sever (The Chemical Trilogy #3)
by Lauren DeStefano
Goodreads

The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3)
by Richelle Mead
Goodreads

IMM #13 and STS #7

From YA Book Exchange:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

From ARCycling:

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

Bought:

Ghost Town (Morganville Vampires #9) by Rachel Caine

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong

The Awakening (Darkest Powers #2) by Kelly Armstrong

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

WOW #14

Title: Sketchy
Author: Olivia Samms
Expected Publication: April 30th, 2013
Overview: A popular cheerleader—raped, beaten, and left for dead. An edgy outsider with a gift. Can they team up to catch a killer? 

Bea’s life has been a mess ever since she got kicked out of private school and sent to rehab. Now clean, Bea is starting over at Packard High School, in a city shaken from two assaults on young women. The latest victim, Willa Pressman—the one who survived—doesn’t remember a thing. But Bea has a disturbing new “skill”: she can see—and then draw—images from other people’s minds. And when she looks at Willa, Bea is shocked by what she sketches. Bea might be the only one who knows Willa’s secrets—and who can take down the killer before he strikes again

Cover Reveal: Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy #2) by Karina Halle

Synopsis

A second chance at first love.

There are a few things worth risking everything for - even your life. For Camden McQueen, this is one of them.

Shooting Scars is the second book in The Artists Trilogy and is told from the dual POV of Camden and Ellie.

Goodreads

Purchase the first in the series!

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About the Author!

The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in   acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with).

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she's preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

Book Blitz + Giveaway/Review(#14): The Boys of Summer by CJ Duggan

I am so excited to be taking part in my first book blitz, hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Book tours. As part of the tour, I have for you my review of The Boys of Summer, an excerpt, and a giveway! How great is that?

SYNOPSIS

It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.
To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.

Warning: sexual references, and occasional course language.

Purchase:

Barnes and Noble

Amazon (Ebook)

Amazon (Paperback)

Excerpt: 

Moon rays filtered through the windshield, giving the cabin an otherworldly glow.

Toby’s perfect teeth were illuminated when he smiled. “You know, you are the worst winner!” He shook his head. “Ever since you won the bet, you’ve been apologising. Just go with it, enjoy it, because I assure you, next time …” - he leaned closer - “… you will not be the winner.” He pulled back, smug.

I curved a brow. “Next time?”

He nodded. “I fully intend to redeem myself.”

“Want a chance to rebuild your shattered ego, do you? I bet you’re itching to fix my bike so you can be rid of me once and for all.” I shouldered him gently, teasing him as I would Adam. And then I realised what I had done; I had treated him like my friends. He looked down at his shoulder, then up at me. His eyes shadowed with untold meanings that I couldn’t read.

“What if I didn’t want to fix your bike?” he said in all seriousness.

“Why, is my company so stimulating that you can’t bear the thought of being without me?” I teased nervously.

I was aiming for light and airy, but something must have gone wrong with my delivery because Toby’s face went blank. He looked out into the lights of Onslow, ran his tongue over his bottom lip and sighed.

Review:

Want a read that transports you to summer and has you up into the wee hours of the night because you really can't wait to see what happens next?  Duggan gives you all of that in The Boys of Summer.  I never thought when I picked up this book that I would like it so much.

I must admit it took me a little bit to get into The Boys of Summer at first, but once the Onslow boys came into the picture, it was a roller coaster ride until the end.  The Onslow boys are just great guys, even with their 5 year age gap, between the two main characters, Tess and Ellie.  They are sweet, caring, generous, and just so decent for being older guys.  Never did they try to take advantage or hurt either of the girls.

I loved seeing Tess come out of her shell.  At the beginning, she is portrayed as this backwards girl who doesn't have many friends and seems to get picked on by a lot of people.  But by the end, she is so confident and comfortable with herself.  I loved how as the story progressed she was so witty with the guys and really got comfortable with being herself.  

And then there's Toby, Tess's love interest. I must admit, he had me just as confused as he made Tess feel.  One minute he's outgoing and joking around, and the next he's drawn back and quiet.  I couldn't quite read him at times and I sometimes got highly frustrated at him, but by the end, I loved him.  He's such a decent guy and his and Tess's adventures made me ache to have what they had.  

Duggan's writing is exceptional and I will definitely be reading more by her.  The set of characters she creates in The Boys of Summer will stay with you for a long time.  I promise you won't regret picking up this book!

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IMM #12 and STS #6

 

This week, I didn't get any actual books, so this post is based off the eBooks I bought lately!