Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Evie works for IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency)  bagging and tagging paranormals and wishing she was a normal girl herself.  But when the paranormals start dying, the mystery of who and what Evie becomes all too important.

Just as he reached for my neck, I tased him. I was there to bag and tag, not to kill. Besides, if I had to carry separate weapons for every paranormal I took out, I'd be dragging around a full luggage set. Tasers are a one-size-fits-all paranormal butt-kicking option. Mine's pink with rhinestones. Tasey and I have had a lot of good times together.

I liked Evie's sarcastic tone and her naivete.  She was kick-ass without being too in-your-face tough.  This was a fun book and I really enjoyed it.  I was a little frustrated by the fact that no one would answer a darn question in a straightforward manner, but still it was interesting, uncovering the secret of Evie and Vivian.  Thought not too much of the secret, I assume, since this is still a series and there is more to the story than what is in this book.  It was nice that the book didn't end on too much of cliffhanger.  I hate that.  It could almost be a standalone if necessary. 

Lend is my favorite boy of the moment.  Who could be more perfect and more perfect for Evie?  Sigh.  No one.  He is awesome and so is his family.   I loved that part of the book.  And I loved the chemistry between Evie and Lend.  I can't wait to read more about them.

8 hours, 40 minutes

Emily Eiden is the narrator and she does a great job of capturing the sacrastic nature of Evie and the sweetness of Lend.  I liked her voices for all the characters.  Her pacing was pretty much just great and she has a wonderful voice.  I really liked her and would definitely listen to something else read by her.

Whisper in my Ear

All These Things I've Done Giveaway!

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidentally poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

 Courtesy of Macmillan Children's Publishing, I am giving away one copy of Gabriell Zevin's new book All These Things I've Done.  I loved loved Elsewhere and can't wait to read this one.  The giveaway ends on September 16 at midnight.  Winner will be chosen via random number and contacted for mailing address.  Just fill out the form below. 

Weekly Round-Up 9/5

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Drink, Slay, Love (Durst) and Wisdom's Kiss (Murdock). I'm listening to The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Meyer).


Last week I read Huntress (Lo) and finished Paranormalcy (White). 
Other reviews posted: The Unwanteds (McMann)

From NetGalley

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Publish date: December 27th 2011

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process

Croak by Gina Damico
Publisher: Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publish date: March 30th 2012

Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach Lex the family business.

She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to kill a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

Ladies in Waiting by Laura L. Sullivan
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publish date: May 8th 2012

Eliza dreams of writing plays for the king’s theater, where she will be admired for her wit rather than her father’s wealth. Beth is beautiful but poor, so she must marry well, despite her love for her childhood sweetheart.

Zabby comes to England to further her scientific studies—and ends up saving the life of King Charles II. Soon her friendship with the handsome king becomes a dangerous, impossible obsession. Though she knows she should stay away from the court, the queen needs ladies in waiting.

And so the three Elizabeths from very different walks of life find themselves at the center of the most scandal-filled court that England has ever seen.

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Goodreads:

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance.
To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin, two seventeen-year-old girls, are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet the two girls' destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever.

She was here because the Council of Sage believed the Fairy Queen knew something about why their kingdom was turning into a wasteland - place where crops spoiled overnight, where farmers couldn't replant because there was no sunlight.  Where monsters crawled out of their dark places and were found dead in northern villages, or were somehow reborn in the soft little bodies of human babies.  p. 103

I loved Kaede and Taisin.  They were a beautiful couple and their relationship develops at a sweet and slow pace allowing them to really think of about how they feel about each other.  Each girl has her own strengths and places to them very well.  Taisin is a gifted sage and Kaede is very strong and determined and become quite a good hunter.  It's those qualities that get them through their long adventure, allowing to them to carry out the tasks set before them.  They set out at the invitation of the Fairy Queen to find out what is happening in their kingdom and find many fantastic and sometimes horrific creatures waiting for them.  Yet they manage to persevere and complete their quest.

Where Ash was a retelling of the Cinderella story, Huntress has its own unique story to tell.  I loved it and thought was a truly lovely book, though a bit sad.  It is set a couple of hundred years before Ash and really tells the tale of how the Huntress position came to be. It moved along at nice pace though it did seem to take a long time for them to get to the Fairy Queen and it moved even quicker after that.  But I guess the background was necessary for what they found with the fey.  It is beautifully written and the imagery is amazing.