The Violet Hour

Friday, April 15, 2011

Follow Friday & Book Blogger Hop 4/15

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkie's View. It's an awesome way to meet new bloggers and friends!

I will be a little slow at responding to comments and returning follows, we're just super busy this weekend, but I promise ALL will be returned =)

Review – Die For Me

Die For Me (Revenants, #1) by Amy Plum

Expected publication: May 10th 2011 by HarperTeen

more details…

ISBN 0062004018

Author’s website

Series: Revenants #1

Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Pre-order from Amazon

GoodReads says: “My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything. Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.
Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
While I’m fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family’s—in jeopardy for a chance at love?”

My thoughts: Honestly, I can’t believe this is Amy Plum’s debut novel. Her first novel. It’s SO GOOD! This story is SUCH a breath of fresh air! If you’re into paranormal reads like I am, you probably have gotten tired of the same theme: vampire love triangle, werewolf triangle, vampire vs werewolf love triangle. So when I read something about a book with “sexy zombies”, I was confused and intrigued. I had to know what this was all about! NetGalley and HarperCollins/HarperTeen were super sweet and hooked me up, and didn’t make me wait until May 10. (Thank you!)

Plum begins the story by introducing us to Kate and Georgia, sisters who have suffered a terrible tragedy, and have moved to Paris to live with their grandparents. The sisters grieve in opposite ways. Georgia, wild and sociable; Kate, quiet and reclusive. They are content go their separate ways and it’s only when Kate ventures out on her own that she meets Vincent, who sweeps her off her feet and into the world of the Revenants.

With this being an entirely new and original concept, I think that Amy Plum did an outstanding job of explaining and describing the rules and ‘lives’ of the Revenants. Her writing kept a steady pace and left me dying to know what happened next.(Because of that, I read this almost in one sitting late at night and woke up 45 minutes late for work the next day. Totally worth it!) Also, Plum’s description of Paris, city and countryside, makes me want to blow my savings account and buy a plane ticket. It all sound so soothing and beautiful.

I quickly became attached to a few characters. Kate, because of her heartache over her parents death and her struggle to overcome the sadness and start over fresh in beautiful Paris. Vincent, for being so caring and sweet, and completely honest with Kate about his world. And Jules for being…well, Jules. His flirty attitude added some comic relief, and his fondness for Kate was really sweet.

The relationship between Vincent and Kate is probably one of my favorites out of all the books I’ve read. They felt an instant connection when they met, but still took their time and got to know each other. ‘Love at first sight’ is just all too common. When Kate and Vincent showed some willpower I did a little dance. It just made their relationship more realistic for me. I liked seeing Kate deal with all the information Vincent threw at her. She didn’t just blindly accept everything and go along with it.

I am incredibly happy that this is going to be a series! There’s just too much in the world of the Revenants that I want to know about. The story wrapped up nicely, yet had enough of a cliffhanger that leaves me a little devastated that it was over. I definitely recommend that you pre-order this book if you haven’t already. May 10..we’re (impatiently) waiting for you!

Edit! Waiting on Wednesday 4/13

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s pre-publication “can’t-wait-to-read” selection is:
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
by Michelle Hodkin

Expected publication: September 27th 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

From GoodReads:

“Mara Dyer doesn’t believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love. She’s wrong.“

Hello to old and new readers! I hope you’re at least a little intrigued by my pick for this week. I’m working through my list to come see all of yours! If you’re a new reader, I return all comments and follows. Be sure to check back later this week for reviews of City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare, and Die For Me by Amy Plum!

Hey everyone! GO LOOK!

Head over to e-Volving Books and read my Blogger Spotlight! This was my first spotlight/interview, and I am very honored to have been chosen. It was a lot of fun talking about one of my favorite possessions, my Kindle! Go check it out and leave a comment! Pretty please? Cherries on top!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Wings ReadAlong with Page Turners

So I kinda indirectly fibbed on my ‘It’s Monday! What are you reading?‘ post. I finished Die For Me (loved it! Review later this week!), and remembered that a few weeks ago I had gotten Wings for free on my Kindle. I had seen something about a read along happening, so I decided to join in since I had the book!

From Page Turners:

Hope you are enjoying the first few chapters. If you haven’t download Wings yet this is you last week to get it for free – just click here to find the free downloadable links. Since we only have a few weeks to do this, we are roughly asking our questions about every 5 chapters.

Biology plays a huge role in Wings – it’s where the story starts, it’s where Laurel meets David and ultimately what helps Laurel figure out what is going on with her body. What was your favorite part of biology?

I really liked learning everything about “how this works” in biology. Granted, my grades didn’t reflect that, but I did like it! 😉

What is your first impression of Laurel? Did you find her “awkwardness” easy to relate to?To a certain degree, yes. I think we all had a hard time adjusting to school, especially going from elementary to junior high, then junior high to high school. Definitely a learning curve to those territories. Laurel knows she’s different, and I like that she doesn’t seem to make excuses for any of her ‘quirks’. Even when Chelsea rudely bombards her with questions, she doesn’t lose her nerve. ‘Atta girl!

In chapter 3 we learn that Laurel is adopted and find out that the process for her adoption wasn’t exactly normal. What would you do if you found a toddler on your doorstep?

Probably the same as Laurel’s parents did. Well, it doesn’t say that they freaked out, but I probably would initially. I’d then contact the authorities, and petition that the child stay with my husband and I. If no family could be found, we’d probably start the process of adopting.

Let me know if you’re participating in this awesome event so that I can come read your answers! Link to the post in my comments section, if you can. =)