Follow Friday/Blog Hop (June 3rd, 2011)

Today's question?  What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen (both of which could be terrifying). 

My answer?  Haha, that is a funny question this week and it's so weird too, because I just finished reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan, so I've had zombie apocalypses on the brain haha!  I am not prepared at all and I would have to fight them off with a butter knife.  I would probably become all zombified pretty quickly, so if you hear me knocking strangely, just don't open the door...

Today's question:  Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it's close to your heart.

My answer:  The post closest to my heart from last month was my Blog About Your Dog Monday post, because I love my dogs to bits and they're so cute.  However, the post closest to my heart that I ever posted was just a few days before that and called, "The Most Exciting News Ever," and it is self-explanatory lol.  :)

And for all the Nook and NookColor users out there, today is Free Friday from Barnes and Noble again and this week's book is called Life's a Beach and it's by the bestselling author of Must Love Dogs, Claire Cook and of course, you can't beat free for the price!  Might as well download it.

Thanks for stopping by everyone, new or old, I love a visitor no matter what!  :)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

How would you survive in a zombie apocalypse?  Would you be brave?  Would you adhere to the rules of the new society?  Would you be content living in your little sliver of safety or would you ache for something more?  For Mary, it's the only world she knows, but through the stories her mother used to tell her, she knows there is more.  She knows there are cities with buildings so high they climb into the sky.  She knows there are other faraway places.  She knows there is an ocean...  There might be somewhere safe from the zombies (otherwise known as the unconsecrated).  If there's any way to get there, it seems like an impossible mystery and one she's not sure she's brave enough to figure out.  Most people think she's a bit crazy though, because she believes in these "fairy tales" of oceans and giant cities and the last photos that could've been evidence of the strange world outside were burned in an accidental fire years ago.  To the majority of the villagers, going outside just means certain death and they can't understand why Mary fantasizes about it all the time.  The village is safe, the people are well-fed and no one wants to see beyond the fences.  Except Mary.  Mary dreams of a life without fences or trees, with water as far as the eye can see and she wants to know it personally.  There are fenced paths leading away from the community, but everyone has been warned to stay away from them and told that they're not safe.  Perhaps they lead to the ocean though...  I'd recommend The Forest of Hands and Teeth to fans of horror, suspense, zombie-apocalypse stories, survival, dystopians, tragic love stories or anyone looking for something a tad darker than their usual read.

Favorite things:  the creepy atmosphere, Mary's inquisitive soul, the exciting and dangerous world Carrie Ryan created, the characters and their uniquely intertwined relationships, the elaborate society complete with New World rules, the scary threat of the unconsecrated looming at every turn, the level of creepiness which provided an interesting read without being overwhelming, the pace which kept me hooked from cover-to-cover, the approach of the love story which was quite different from most YA reads and the overall journey you go on while reading this book.

Criticisms:  the ever-changing covers for this book resulted in me getting one that doesn't match the second one now which is a pet-peeve of mine, the behavior of one of the male leads was frustrating at times and... that's all I can think of, it was a really good read!

Overall:  5 out of 5 stars!  I'm so thankful to those of you who suggested it through my poll, because it really was worth my limited time!

Waiting on Wednesday - The Steampunk Chronicles #2, by Kady Cross

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine for us to share the upcoming releases we can't wait for.  Since I just read The Girl in the Steel Corset, by Kady Cross I am really looking forward to the next book in this series.  Since this was the just released a few days ago I expect the next one to come out around this time in 2012.  We'll see, but typically writers seem to get their books out once a year.  And obviously since the release is so far away there is no cover or title available yet, but I can only hope they'll continue the theme of beautiful dresses and striking composition, because I loved the first cover.  Go ahead and take a look at that one again and click my link to read my review if you haven't yet.  :)

Teaser Tuesday - The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading so we can share a bit from the book we're currently reading.  I just finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth (a great zombie apocalypse book), but I haven't started anything else yet, so that is the book I'll share from and this is my favorite creepy part...

"There is a child - a baby - who long since kicked off her blankets.  Her skin is ashen and her mouth open in a perpetual yet silent scream.  She isn't old enough to roll over, to sit up, to climb.  So she lies there kicking her fat legs against the footboard of the crib, eternally calling for her mother.  For food.  For flesh."

GFC Not Working!

Has anyone else had any problems with GFC (Google Friend Connect) lately?  Mine isn't showing up, but I checked on some other blogs and they were up and working.  Perhaps there have been waves of errors rolling throughout the blogosphere.  It's certainly a super-bummer and I hate when anything is having functionality issues.  So if you just stumbled upon my blog and you can't follow me now, please be a dear and bookmark me to add me later!  Thanks and hopefully Google gets these issues under control soon, because it is so annoying.  Share your stories of annoyance with me if you have some frustrations too!   

The Girl in the Steel Corset, by Kady Cross

The Girl in the Steel Corset, by Kady Cross was my first steampunk book and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it.  There are many reasons this particular book was good though and the genre was only one of them.  Let me start at the beginning... Finley is your average Victorian-era housemaid living in England, except she has a dangerous, darker side that she can barely control.  When her employer, Lord Felix August-Raynes, tries to force himself upon her, Finley lets her other side take over and easily overpowers the lord to quickly escape into the night.  Then luck, or perhaps even fate, leads her to cross paths with a quirky band of characters that decide to take her in.  Surprisingly, they might know more about Finley's darker side than she does herself and they promise to help her gain control and achieve balance.  They all happen to have their own secret talents or abilities too and soon Finley will begin to understand more about how they're all connected.  She tries to make herself at home and struggles to open up since she's never had a true friend before, but Finley is lucky to find some amazing people in this group of mysterious new allies.  Emily is Irish, smart as a whip and able to use organites or what she likes to call her "little beasties" to help her friends heal faster.  Griff is handsome, kind and also a very rich and important figure in royal circles.  Jasper is a cowboy from America who is bold and loyal.  And Sam is a little wary of Finley, but his recent past has caused him to to doubt his friends' judgement he's concerned what new trouble Finley might bring.  Finley is a little worried about the trouble she might bring too though, because her other half has started taking complete control of her and she doesn't even remember what happens during those times.  She's got to learn to trust her new friends, and quickly too, because they're her only hope to gain control and to be a complete person with both good and bad, just like everyone else.  I would recommend The Girl in the Steel Corset to any fans of steampunk, technology-based fantasy, romance, action, fight scenes, strong female characters, stories of friendship or just anyone looking for something new and fresh to read.

Favorite things:  the similarities to both the old Final Fantasy games and one of my recent favorite books called Wither, by Lauren DeStefano, the exciting action scenes, Finley's incredible strength that allows her to be completely capable in a fight against anyone, the descriptions of the finery Griff is able to provide including amazing dresses and strange technology, Emily (whose intelligence made her a very endearing character to me), the connections and friendships that developed between the characters, the gorgeous cover, the cool steampunk technology, the mistakes and decisions each character make that lead to interesting conflicts and the overall atmosphere of the book which was dark and intriguing.

Criticisms:  the long periods of calm made this a hard book to stay interested in at times, the sequel was set up too abruptly, some of the characters weren't flushed out enough - which left me wanting more and the love triangle wasn't realistic enough for me due to the encouraging behavior from both guys.

Overall:  5 out of 5 stars!  After reading this, I actually like Wither less *gasp*, because The Girl in the Steel Corset gave me the same atmosphere and juxtaposition of wealth against a backdrop of darkness and it went a step further giving me more characters to love and the fun element of steampunk technology too.  I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Note:  I was able to read this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.  I did not pay for this book, however that did not affect my opinion or review in any way.

Waiting on Wednesday - Fever, by Lauren DeStefano

Waiting on Wednesday is a great meme to share our excitement about upcoming books.  It was started by Breaking the Spine.  This week I am excited for the sequel to Wither (read my review for that one here) which I just found out is called, Fever.  I look forward to continuing this dark series and I hope the next one is even better than Wither (which will be hard to do).  Fever is scheduled to be released in February of 2012, so it's still quite a long wait!  By then, I'll have a little baby in the house, so who knows if I'll even have time to read like I do now.  I will take a few breaks here and there for my favorite pastime, but I'm sure it won't be a book every other day like I've been averaging lately!  No matter what though, I'll manage to finish Fever some how, because I can't wait to find out what happens next!  The cover still hasn't been released, so here's a look at the first book's gorgeous artwork.  I really look forward to seeing the next one!  I hope it's a similar design. 

Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray

When the plane carrying the Miss Teen Dream contestants crashes on a remote island it might seem like a pretty dismal situation, but even a few deaths won't get these pageant pros down for long.  It's a constant competition and these ladies aren't going to stop applying lip gloss just because they're all alone on an island!  They've got to keep their skills sharp, their routines polished and everybody alive and well until their grand rescue.  Beauty Queens is one part Miss America, one part Survivorman and one part prime-time sitcom (insert your favorite one here).  It comes complete with footnotes and extras that poke fun at some current culture trends by cleverly renaming them and being vague enough that they could truly be about several different people/products.  I found those tidbits funny, cute and a nice change of pace from the standard style of writing I usually read.  These Teen Dreamers aren't going to just simply survive either, they're going to do it in style.  They decide to keep feeding their souls as well as their bodies as part of their survival plan and what's more satisfying than winning the hut decorating contest?  Nothing, if you're a pageant queen stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere!  It's not all just fashion and life-or-death problem-solving though, because the island, the pageant directors and even the leader of a small country are connected in twisted and surprising ways.  The girls are actually in more danger than they can possibly know.  As they navigate the uncharted waters of island survival they also learn a lot about themselves and each other.  When faced with issues of mortality, people often reprioritize and the Miss Teen Dream ladies begin to examine their true purpose in life.  What is there beyond pageants?  What inspires them?  What impact do they want to have on the world when and if they're ever rescued?  I would recommend Beauty Queens to any fans of pageants, survival, adventure, dark humor, Libba Bray, coming-of-age stories or LGBT books.

Favorite things:  the diverse cast of characters, the laugh-out-loud moments, the positive examples of female strength and ingenuity, the inventive ways Libba Bray used pageant skills as survival skills, the funny commercials and footnotes added in, the writing in general, the pace near the end of the book that kept me engrossed and the fight scenes were fun as well.

Criticisms:  the pace near the beginning was a little slow, a comment was made about Colorado that was untrue and annoyed me since I'm from this great state (a character said there is only one African-American in Colorado but, in fact, we are very diverse so, I just wanted to state that for the record), the alternating perspectives made my focus feel scattered at times and it was hard to keep track of all the characters since there were so many. 

Overall:  4 out of 5 stars!  If I came away with one main thought from this book it's that I want to read more from Libbra Bray now.

Note:  I was able to read this book as part of an ARC tour in exchange for my honest review.  I did not pay for this book, however that did not affect my opinion or review in any way.