Read It With A Buddy #6 - Heist Society

This book counts toward the following challenges:


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Heist Society (Heist Society, #1)

By Ally Carter

Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2010

287 pages, PDF file

Date Finished: 12/4/2011

Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Some Action, Romance, Realistic Fiction

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat’s father isn’t just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it’s a spectacularly impossible job? She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family’s (very crooked) history—and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "No one knew for certain when the trouble started at the Calgan School.""
~Last Line: "And yet, she knew she could be."

Review: This novel was marvelous! I have been writing to read it for a while, but my recent motivation was when a fellow blogger (Destiny @ Green Lillipads) asked me to BuddyRead with it. I read it in 2 days, give or take.

The main character, Katarina Bishop, belongs to a family whose profession is thievery; not a very good one to fall into, but hey: You do whatcha gotta do, right?

Anyway, Katarina's good friend Hale was definitely my favorite character. The first thing that interested me about him? His name: W.W. Hale the fifth. Katarina has known him for years and still never succeeded in correctly guessing his name.

Hale's also caring, smart in his own way, and apparently super-handsome. Even if Kat doesn't want to admit it, she has absolutely no idea whatsoever what she would do without Hale :). That's what we call good 'ole romance.

This really was a good book. I am glad that the sequel, Uncommon Criminals, is coming out later this year. Can't remember exactly, but I think it comes out in August. Lookin' forward to its release!



**Click HERE to read Destiny's review of this novel!!**

Read It With A Buddy #5 - Deadly Little Secret

This book counts toward the following challenges:


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Deadly Little Secret (Touch, #1)
By Laurie Faria Stolarz
Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2008
705 pages, e-book (iPod Touch)
Date Finished: 11/3/2011
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of Age, Some Mystery, Some Action, Realistic Fiction

Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "I could have died three months ago."
~Last Line: "But then he tells me goodbye anyway."

Leanne's Review: I was looking for books one day on me iPod and came across Deadly Little Games, the third book in the Touch series. I read a sample of it and bought Deadly Little Secret. I immensely enjoyed this novel. The concept is different than most of the books I have read lately. Like all books, some of the characters were likable, some you just wanted to slap, and others you just didn't know why their motives were. That brings me to Camie's stalker. That whole situation confused me to no end. They were VERY wishy-washy, but I'll admit, I was looking forward to their point of view the whole time :). I am definitely buying Deadly Little Lies and Games. Laurie Fairia Stolarz is an amazing writer, and I can't wait to read some more of her work.



Zakiya's Review: WOW. This book was super-ahmazing! Leanne (who I believe is mentioned at least once in about 3/4 of my post:D) recommended that I read this; she had it on her iPod, so why not?!

I'm really glad that I read this, though. The main character, Camelia, is just your average high-schooler, with average friends, and average problems -- except for the fact that she has a stalker. Enter Ben, the new kid, also a supposed murderer. He has a special gift, which, even when unknown, sets him apart from the in-crowd. Everyone thinks that Ben is the one stalking Camelia, but he isn't. He's trying to help save Camelia's life as much as he possibly can.

I have to say, this novel was pretty darn-tootin' good. LOL. I read through it pretty quickly (yes, I remember what I read); the characters' behaviors weren't cliche at all, which I enjoyed. I haven't read a book with a stalker befor e(that I can remember) so it was something new to read about.

There was a little action near the end, and, as always. we had a little romance. Ben doesn something terribly heartbreaking, for Camelia if no one else, at the end of the book. Everything that happened in this book was somewhat different than others, unquestionably. Camelia's best friends, Kimmie and Wes, were ones that I liked. Kimmie was always trying to be a good friend and listen, but gets fed up at the end with Camelia always standing up for Ben -- a guy that she's not even sure she can trust -- and not even take the time to ask about on-going problems in her friends' lives.

But anyway, everything is really awesome at the end. I'm glad that there is a second and third -- and soon to be fourth -- novel after this one. If you haven't indulged yourself in this bovel, you gotta get it sometime! :P

Read It With A Buddy #4 - How to Say Goodbye in Robot

This book counts toward the following challenges:


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How to Say Goodbye in Robot
By Natalie Standiford
Publisher: Scholastic, 2009
276 pages, paperback
Date Finished: 18/1/2011 (Leanne), 31/1/2011 (Zakiya)
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of Age

New to town, Bea is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "Goebbels [pronounced gerbils] materialized on the back patio, right before we moved to Baltimore, and started chewing through the wicker love seat."
~Last Line: "That's how I imagined it, anyway."

Leanne's Review: The novel How to Say Goodbye in Robot, was truely one of a kind. I read it last year, but I was not as good at reviwing or analyzing books back then. It was my favorite book because it made me cry, until I re-read it. Then I saw the lack of character substance at some points and plot holes. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, but it bounced around a lot. Bea was a very understandable character, and you just HAD to love Jonah. Everyone wants a relationship like Jonah and Bea's, being able to be in love without having to use titles or show it every five seconds. This book isn't something we all go through, far from it, but it is relatable, which is something we all enjoy. The whole radio show aspect is fun and corky; I really enjoyed this book. Definitely will read more of Standiford's books, she is an amazing writer, who really captures a story.

Zakiya's Review: This novel was first recommended to me by Leanne. I'm so glad that she got me a copy for my birthday. It really was a great read!

Beatrice, our main character, is new to Baltimore, and her first friend at her new school is Anne Sweeney. Her first curiousity: Jonah Tate. It was, in my opinion, really fast at how she and Jonah started talking to each other. It was good, though. They were totally in love, and they were almost completely oblivious to their feelings. I mean, they were basically dating, but they never admitted to being together; it was sort of nauseating.

Jonah introduces Beatrice to a wonderful and very appealing late night radio show called Night Lights. I have to say, it's not your regular music station. The callers are all really great, and their personalities are well-represented. They make me wonder: Did Natalie Standiford "create" these characters off of people she knew? Or does she just have a super-good imagination? My inner thoughts are saying probably both :).

This novel was a contemporary romance, but it was sort of a hidden romance; like, it was there, but you had to be into the characters and their actions and feelings. No blood-and-gore action, although they do "fly" on the "magic carpet," which I'm sure was a lot of fun!

Overall, you need to read this spectacular novel. Sadly, it's a stand alone novel, but the ending was so great that you don't really need anymore books with Beatrice and Jonah (although it would be nice). You seriously need to read this book if you haven't already! :D



Quotes from the book:

"I turned a corner and came to a small church. There was a headstone near the path leading to the church's wooden doors. I stepped closer to read the headstone. It said 'For the Unicorn Child.'
That is so cool, I thought. What a funky town this was. I imagined a neighborhood Legend of the Unicorn Child, about a one-horned little boy who'd died tragically, hit by a car or shot by a mugger or maybe poisoned by lawn pesticides. The story of the Unicorn Child was so real to these people they'd erected a stone in his memory.
Then I read it again. The stone didn't say 'For the Unicorn Child.' It said 'For the Unborn Child.' "

" 'She don't want a boyfriend, she don't need to be pushed. She and Ghost Boy will fall in love when they're ready.'
'But they're meant for each other,' Myrna said.
'Sure, like crabcakes and crackers,' Larry said. 'I didn't say they wouldn't get it on sometime.' "

Read It With A Buddy #3 - The Mind Readers

Leanne and I recently received The Mind Readers from Lori Brighton to read and review. Thought I should make an "occassion" out of it :). Enjoy! **I have to warn you that this isn't one of my best reviews; one because I'm rushing a little, and two because I don't want to include spoilers for fear of telling the entire book :).**

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The Mind Readers
By Lori Brighton
Publisher: Smashwords - Dec 2010
170 pages, Google Docs
Date Finished: 27/12/2010 (Zakiya), 23/12/2010 (Leanne)
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Action

Synopsis: Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows that Cameron can read minds. When Lewis Douglas arrives, he tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a place where she meets other Mind Readers. But when the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs.

~First Line: "The man sitting across from me at the cafe was thinking about murdering his wife."
~Last Line: " 'Whether you believe me or not, Sweetheart, I'm pretty much the only thing standing between you and death."

Ms Brighton did not pay nor bribe us to review this novel.

Zakiya's Review: OH MY GOSH!!!!!! For 2 or 3 months, I thought The Last Song was the best novel out there. I have been proven wrong! Lori Brighton's YA novel was filled with action, emotional pains, characters that I wanted to hurt -- physically. Once I got closer to the climax, I was practically yelling at the charries for doing stupid .... stuff :). The story's somewhat-hero, the one I yelled at the most, describes Cameron as a "sitting duck" while trying to persuade her into going back with him to Aaron's hosue to train her powers. Yeah, she agreed. So she was, what, a swimming duck? Something to ask the author :). I have honestly never read anything like this. If I could change anything, I might make it a little longer, but I LOVE the cliff hanger at the end. With that steep of an ending, there has to be a sequel. So many ends were left untied. This novel definitely gets 5 wings!!


Leanne's Review: Lori Brighton outdid herself. This novel was short (170 pages) was amazing!!!!! I read it through GoogleDocs and could not stop. This book was completly amazing. It is the best one I have read in a while. It had everything you would want in a book, but it was very short. There was a lot going on. You never know what will happen next. Cam is just trying to find a place in the world. She is diffrent than others in more ways than one, but the most dominate is that she is a mind reader. So is her grandmother. She doesn't think anyone else is, because her grandmother has shielded her from all of that. I personally loved this book. You couldn't just skip a few pages like on other books; instead of focusing on a bunch of unnessasary details, it just gets straight to what's happening. The time in it jumps around a lot, but it isn't that hard to keep up. I would reccomend this to everyone. It is a light read between books and very interesting. I would rate this 5 pins.

(From both of us; these are Leanne's "pins." Cute, huh?!)

Our Favorite Quote!!!! :

"The guard grabbed my left arm and jerked me up the steps. My heart plummeted. Maddox might be some sort of secret agent, but unless he was Harry Freaking Potter, there was no way he could get us out of this situation."

Read It With A Buddy #2 - Betrayed

Hello again! So Elyssa and I have finished our reviews for Betrayed, but I noticed that we had different ratings. Because of this, I will just post our reviews seperately. Hope you enjoy them,

--Zakiya, the walking butterfly [and Elyssa!]

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Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
By P.C. and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007
310 pages, paperback
Read: 7/17/2010
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Romance

First Line of Book: " 'New kid. Check it out,' Shaunee said as she slid into the big, boothlike bench we always claim as ours for every school meal served in the dining hall (translation: high-class school cafeteria)."
Last Line of Book: "I'll go back for you, Stevie Rae."


Zakiya's Review: Betrayed was even better than Marked. More guy drama, more fun with friends, Zoey's big moment as the head of the school (sort of). It was just a giant step up from the series debut that I was glad I continued the series. Hopefully, Chosen will be even better!

In this book, Zoey and her friends take over the Dark Daughters -- the House of Night's prestigious group of students. Zoey has also taken the position pf High Priestess in Training, a big deal to Neferet (the "principal"). Her first Full Moon ritual is coming up soon, but things always seem to get in the way.

Betrayed was an ah-mazing sequel. IT had some great kick-butt action near the end, which I really enjoyed. Something good (and bad) happens to Heath, but I'm not telling what :). Zoey's vampyre friends are defined just a little bit more, and they have some cool stuff going on with them. Meanwhile, Stevie Rae catches hell, and Zoey just might be able to trust Aphrodite now, even though Neferet is encouraging her not to.

I loved this book, the characters, and the plot. Basically every single letter! I can't wait until I can get ahold of Chosen!

Rating:


Quotes from the Book:

"Cats do roam free all over the school. They often followed "their" kid to class. Nala, in particular, liked to find me several times a day. She'd insist I scratch her head, complain a little, and then take off and go do whatever catrs did with their free time. (Plot world domination?)"

" 'What's wrong with you?' Stevie Rae said.
The attention that the four of them had been focusing on trying to figure out if there was a hair in Erin's salad or if it was just one of those weird strings of celery shifted instantly to me."

" 'We don't do ugly,' Shaunee said.
'Yeah, and pot's ugly. Plus, it makes you eat for no good reasom. It's a shame the hottie football players are into that,' Erin said.
'Makes them less hottie,' Shaunee said.
'Okay, hottie-ness and pot are not really the point,' I said."

"The cat was as fat as a Butterball turkey. I mean, her tummy looked like she had a pouch and could hide a herd of baby kangaroos in there. That's probably why she wheezed. Carrying around all that cat fat couldn't be easy."



Elyssa's Review: I enjoyed this second book of the House of Night Series more then the first time I read it. Probably because last time I did not get to read Marked before I received Betrayed from the hold list at the library.

I was a bit put off by the language that this mother and daughter team used. I was shocked at how much they used slut, skank, and hag bitch. What is with the tossing of these terms? And why is it that when a female is bad she is an automatic slut. Really. I think we could be better then that. All of the pop culture talk is also over done. Plus it really dates the book even though it really is not that old.

Zoey is now the head of the Dark Daughters and sons (a special group on campus) as priestess in training. The detail surrounding by their religion and her priestess duties was well done. Asking for guidance from her Goddess, Nyx, and receiving help must have felt amazing. The religion and Goddess offers some hint of humanity into the assumed horrible existence of vampires. I am just sorry for Zoey that she starts to question her mentors true intentions.

Zoey should really learn to trust the people she calls friends. It is hard to read and enjoy a character if they keep making the same mistakes over and over. For me it is more like banging my head against a wall (or telling my kids to pick up their toys).

Personally, I really loved how entertaining it was to read about her desire for blood. It is all apart of becoming a vampire. The change does not usually include this desire so soon. A fledgling does not also make it through a change. One of Zoey's friends did not make it through the change. It was absolutely a shock for me and I cannot image how she felt. Damion did say the darnest things and they were nearly almost always funny. It was too sad to watch her friends try to cheer her up without much luck.

Another part that I enjoyed was the fact that Zoey is now questioning herself over three different men. Her boyfriend, Erik, is absent from House of Night doing a monologue for a competition for most of the book. Zoey ends up meeting Loren Blake who is a part time professor whom she believes is very interested in her. We can not forget Heath, her human boyfriend/ex-boyfriend.

Overall this book was a fun read. However, you will find flaws in the book. But who picks up a urban fantasy paranormal romance for a literary masterpiece? I'm looking for a read that will transport me to another place that I can enjoy for a few hours. This book did just that.

Rating: 3

Read It With A Buddy #1 - City of Bones

Hello to all you blog readers!!

This is something that our guest today actually came up with for our group blog, and I figured we could post it on here as well.

Let me introduce, the wonderful, almighty Elyssa!!! Elyssa has been blogging longer than me, but she's still somewhat new to the blogging world. Elyssa, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?

I enjoy good writing. Lately I've been diving into fantasy/sci-fi books. Erotica is a guilty pleasure. Shh... don't tell. LOL!

Well we're definitely glad to have you here with us today. Now, down to business: Read It With A Buddy is a spin-off of a feature we started on Goodreads, called the Buddy Read. People who are interested in the same book can decide on a date to start reading it together, and they discuss as they go, answering questions or just talking. Elyssa and I recently finished a Buddy Read for City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. We will provide you with general book info and the product of our combined reviews for the book. Hope you enjoy our united efforts,

--Zakiya, the walking butterfly

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City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, #1)
By Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 2007
485 pages, paperback
Date Finished: 6/?/2010 (Elyssa) , 6/28/2010 (Zakiya)
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Young Adult, Coming of Age

First Line of Book: " 'You've got to be kidding me,' the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest."

Notice: In this review, the blue writing is Elyssa (aka Twisted Book Junkie), while the green is moi (me).

Review: First off, I think I need to make it clear that this book is full of tons of witty humor, and if you had a highlighter for great quotes, most of the book would be covered in bright yellow!

Clare's first book for The Mortal Instruments Series just pulled me in deep. Her words spun a fantasy world that had me loving the characters, caring about them. I stayed up late New Year's Eve reading this book early into the morning. Yup, this Twisted Book Junkie spent New Year's with Jace, Clary & Simon. (I recently re-read this book for a challenge.)

**I should mention that Elyssa and I had a little difference in our main characters. We both agree, as can anyone else who has read this book, that Clary and Jace are automatically into focus. Twisted decided to close up on Simon, while I focused more on Isabelle and Alec.**

Cassandra Clare did an excellent job of starting the Mortal Instruments series. From the moment Clary saw Jace, Isabelle, and Alec killing that demon in Pandemonium, the book got even more interesting. A great book . . .

Clary Fray's mother disappears, and soon, Clary befriends local Shadowhunters Jace, Isabelle, and her brother Alec. Together, they recover the Mortal Cup (and unfortunately end up giving it to the enemy) and Clary's mother. They fight against vampires, fight with werewolves, and visit a wizard in hiding. Everything Clary thought was just stories is really apart of her world, and she didn't even know it.

This book starts off with normal teenager Clary Fray who grew up in NYC with her mom, who is a painter. Of course, like a normal teenager, Clary got into a fight with her mother. However, when she came back home she did not get grounded. She got the shock of her life! The apartment was torn up, her mother was no where to be seen, and a hideous black thing attacked her.

Jace is introduced into this story. He is the bad boy that just has steamy good looks. Picture that, now toss in a darkly dressed attitude, and add weapons that help the boy kick butt at killing demons. *Drool* He helps Clary learn about the world that Calry's mom tried so hard to keep hidden from her. Soon Clary's geeky-in-a-cute-way best friend Simon camping out at her Uncle Luke's. Here Jace, Clary, and Simon end up breaking in to his apartment... to find out that he knows about the world of demons, Shadowhunters, and downworlders.

This book really was a great start to the series. It was recommended to me by Elyssa, actually. I was glad that this was another action / adventure book; Clare provided us with action around every corner, and Clary was always getting to visit new places in the world she never knew about. It was thrilling to read everything, although I found myself skipping half a page sometimes, trying to find out what was about to happen. Then, of course, I had to go back and read what I skipped :). Sometimes, I didn't even bother going back!

This book was very thrilling. There were so many twists and turns, but Clare definitely wove her words perfectly throughout the whole book. For me there was never ever a down point. Can we say ORIGINAL!?! I Loved this book. IT was such a great start to a series, and I highly recommend this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was one of those that I would recommend to anyone who wasn't too picky about what they read.

~WARNING~ There is a big huge twist at the end of the book that will totally floor you! I figured out what was going to happen, but I was still very floored to see it in ink!

Look For:

City of Ashes: The Mortal Instruments #2

City of Glass: The Mortal Instruments #3

City of Fallen Angels: The Mortal Instruments #4 (Not Released Yet)

Clockwork Angel... COMING SOON! (So excited!)

Rating:

Quotes from the Book:

" 'Is this the part where you start tearing off strips of your shirt to bind my wounds?'
'If you wanted me to rip my clothes off, you should have just asked.' "

" 'If you were half as funny as you think you are, you'd be twice as funny as you are now.' "

" 'Just because you call an electric eel a rubber duck doesn't make it a rubber duck, does it? And God help the poor b----rd who decides they want to take a bath with the duckie.' "

" 'The meek may inherit the earth, but at the moment it belongs to the conceited. Like me.' "

" 'Don't.' Clary raised a warning hand. 'I'm not really in the mood right now.'
'That's got to be the first time a girl's ever said that to me,' Jace mused."

" 'Also, I'm sleeping with your mom. Just thought you should know.' "

" 'You hate the Silent Brothers,' protested Isabelle.
'I dohn't hate them,' Jace said candidly. 'I'm afraid of them. It's not the same thing.'
'I thought you said they were librarians,' said Clary.
'They are librarians.'
Simon whistled. 'Those must be some killer late fees.' "

" 'It's so . . . dark,' she said lamely.
'You want me to hold your hand?'
Clary put both her hands behind her back like a small child. 'Don't talk down to me.'
'Well, I could barely talk up to you. You're too short.' "

" 'You shouldn't remember me,' he said. 'I threw up a glamour as hard as a wall as soon as I saw you. You should have run right into it face-first -- psychically speaking.'
If you run into a psychic wall face-first, do you wind up with psychic bruises?"

" 'I was expecting something . . . you know.' He gestured with his hands, indicating something roughly the size of a house cat.
'It's the Mortal Cup, Jace, not the Mortal Toilet Bowl,' said Isabelle."

" 'I should have guessed you were Jace's sister,' he said. 'You both have the same srtistic talent.'
Clary paused, her foot on the lowest stair. She was taken aback. 'Jace can draw?'
'Nah. I was just kidding. He can't draw a straight line.' "