Review of a fabulous Dystopian: Legend by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

What another fabulous dystopian!  First of all I loved this book but when I went into it I had very high expectations.  I had people tell me it was their favorite dystopian of the year and that they liked it better then Shatter Me {impossible!}.  So I know I was expecting something to totally blow me away.  And did it?  Well, not quite.  Don't get me wrong, I really liked it, but I wasn't quite wanting to scream from the rooftops "read this book now or you'll regret it!"  There wasn't anything wrong with it, but it lacked that extra bit of oomph that would send my heart into a serious pitter patter.  There's nothing specific to say I didn't like even.  


The first half is slower, not slow, but slower.  I wasn't bored and didn't want to put it down.  I even read a couple chapters out loud and it was a fun one to read aloud.  Especially Day's chapters.  He was my favorite voice of the two, but I liked June, just not quite as much.   Once I reached about the middle, maybe a bit before it really picked up and I almost read straight through from that point on.  It was quite intense {not Hunger Games intense, but still pretty intense} and the need to make sure everything turned out okay made me fly through the pages.


This is a quick read.  I read it quite fast even while on vacation with very little time to read.  It's a fantastic idea for a world with good world building and a creative idea for a story.  I can't wait to read the next one!


4/5 stars

The News Around These Parts... Cutting Back, Finding a Job, the list goes on...

So I've loved blogging, I still love blogging and am not suffering from burnout in any way.  I'd love to post reviews, interviews, guest posts and giveaways everyday.  I'd love to run a site that offers all of those daily.  But only if I got paid.  See, I've run into a problem.  I have a family that needs me and bills that need to be paid.  So I'm going to be looking for a job while still caring for my family.  Since blogging is a hobby I'll have to cut back.  {If anyone has a job offer please let me know! I'd love a job where I didn't have to leave the house :)}

One thing I've realized while being on this three week vacation is that I can still run a blog but contribute less time to it.  But that means that I'll be cutting back to mostly just reviews and maybe a meme here and there {Saturday Situation will continue}.  I'll have less guest posts and giveaways.  Right now I can't afford to ship books even though I have a whole stack ready for my blogoversary- I guess I'll have to hold off on it for now.   My reviews {you may have already noticed} will be a simpler format and less links, etc.  I'll be experimenting with that a bit to see what I like and what is nice and fast.  I don't have anything against simple {kind of like it actually} but think the content of the review is the most important.  So I'll be focusing on that mostly.

It's likely you won't see a big change at all.  It'll be pretty subtle really because I still plan to have daily posts most everyday.  But if I don't have anything, or I don't have time I'm going to just let it go and not stress that I have to get a post up {at least I'll try ;)}.

As for me visiting you- I subscribe by email to many many blogs and read them there.  Then I try to go through once or twice a week and comment when I'm able.  This has worked for me while I've been on vacation.  I've been able to visit at least some blogs every other day and catch up on posts {for the most part}.  Once I get home I'll be able to read them more then just 10 minutes every other day or so, I'll likely do 15 minutes a day of commenting.  I try to return comments for those who comment but if I don't have the time then I won't be able to.  I'm not going to stress about it.  Hopefully I can find a routine that works for me and doesn't require as much time online.  But if you don't see me as much, this is why.

I thank each of you who reads my blog and I appreciate each and every comment.  I love being a part of the book blogging community and hope to be here for many years to come!

I leave my mothers {and internet access} this Sunday {the day this will go up} and will get home Wednesday.  I have posts scheduled but won't get back to my normal routine until Thursday {and you know that takes time, lol}.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18B. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

I really liked this story a lot and read it in less then two hours.  I found myself immersed in the story completely and really had no desire to put it down.  And while I really really liked it I realized once I was finished that this could have turned out to be an absolute favorite that I would have raved on and on about.  But for some reason it fell just short of that.  It's kind of hard to pinpoint what exactly made it not quite amazing, but I think because of the third person past tense and the jumping around into memories I didn't connect as well with Hadley and her story.  I did like the story that was told and liked that her father and her issues with him getting remarried were so important, and I do think that we needed some back story, but it just messed up the flow for me with the way it was done.  

This was not total fluff.  Yeah, it's a romance, and a very sweet one at that, but I kind of felt like the love story was almost a backseat to the issues that Hadley is dealing with.  And I think I wanted more of the connection between Hadley and Oliver to be there.  But even still this was an adorable story with some deeper messages and an amazing blossoming romance.  And even though Hadley isn't the most like-able character in the beginning we really see her grow in the 24 hours that the book takes place and her growth in the book makes it okay that she's not so wonderful to start with.   

Now keep in mind that even though I pointed out some negatives for me I still loved this book.  It really had potential to be a favorite and just didn't quite get there for me, but it was still absolutely wonderful and I very highly recommend it if it sounds like your thing.

4/5