Waiting on Wednesdays: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Publish Date: March 4, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins

I am almost always a fan of Lauren's books. I'm definitely excited for a new one from her. Not sure if it's stand-alone or a new series.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: BEA

Summary

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after... (courtesy of Goodreads.)

Review

The Dream Thieves in the second book in Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle series. I adored the first book The Raven Boys. It set a very high bar for The Dream Thieves to meet. Unfortunately, for me at least, it fell short.

Manga Mondays #171: Boys Over Flowers vol. 2 by Hana Yori Dango

Manga Mondays Meme

It's been far too long since I've done a Manga Mondays. I'm going to try to get back into the habit.

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Boys Over Flowers vol. 2 by Hana Yori Dango

Summary

Tsukushi Makino has been accepted into the snobbish Eitoku academy. From a middle-class background and poor compared to her classmates, Tsukushi is determined to get her diploma. Standing in her way is the gang known as F4 -- four handsome but vicious rich boys who rule the school and attack anyone who gets in their way This popular series features drama, romance, humor, strong girls, and cute boys. Because she stood up to the F4 gang, Tsukushi is now a celebrity But not everyone has joined her fan club. A boy playing a violin is rude to her. A trio of girls tricks her at a party. And she gets kidnapped and taken to Tsukasa's mansion, where she and her sometimes enemy have a fight and he spreads cruel gossip about her around the school Tsukushi's resourceful, but how will she handle this one? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

In some ways volume 2 of Boys Over Flowers is a mess. It starts off in the middle of a scene without any context. If it's a continuation from volume 1 I've forgotten it. To make matters worse, it feels like there's a dozen separate subplots.

Feature and Follow Friday #178

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

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Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

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Waiting on Wednesdays: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Publish Date: April 15, 2014

Publisher: Little, Brown for Young Readers

I've read both of Jennifer's previous books and adored them. I can't wait to check out her newest offering.

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Release Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: BEA

Summary

While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival. (courtesy of Goodreads.)

Review

Rose Under Fire starts off in a difficult position. Elizabeth Wein's previous novel Code Name Verity received astronomical levels of praise. Hard to follow that. Also, Rose Under Fire deals with the Holocaust. Always a difficult topic because of its horrific nature, but also because there are so many Holocaust novels that it's hard to write anything new.

Manga Mondays #170: Boys Over Flowers vol. 1 by Hana Yori Dango

Manga Mondays Meme

It's been far too long since I've done a Manga Mondays. I'm going to try to get back into the habit.

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Boys Over Flowers vol. 1 by Hana Yori Dango

Summary

Tsukushi Makino has been accepted into the snobbish Eitoku academy. From a middle-class background and poor compared to her classmates, Tsukushi is determined to get her diploma. Standing in her way is the gang known as F4 -- four handsome but vicious rich kids who rule the school and attack anyone who gets in their way This popular series features drama, romance, humor, strong girls, and cute boys. When her only friend, Makiko, accidentally offends F4 leader Tsukasa, Tsukushi boldly defends her. Enraged, Tsukushi puts the dreaded red tag in Tsukushi's locker -- a sign that she is now a target for the abuse of the F4 and the entire school. But when Tsukushi fights the gang with their own weapon, Tsukasa finds himself falling for her (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

From the cover and title alone, I was expecting this to be a typical, ridiculous shoujo manga series. Perhaps it will become so eventually, but the first volume was surprisingly genuine and serious.