Twisted

Twisted by Sara Shepard

Publication Date: 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 305
Source: Bought at Barnes and Noble

Summary:  It’s been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis’s disappearance was finally put to rest. Now seniors in high school, Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily are older, but they’re not any wiser. The pretty little liars have more secrets than ever—twisted secrets that could destroy the perfect lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild.
Aria’s jealous of her boyfriend’s new exchange student. Spencer’s getting a little too cozy with her soon-to-be-stepbrother. Hanna’s one scandalous photo away from ruining her dad’s Senate campaign. And Emily will do anything to get a swim scholarship.
Worst of all: Last spring break in Jamaica, they did something unforgivable. The girls are desperate to forget that fateful night, but they should know better than anyone that all secrets wash ashore . . . eventually.

My Thoughts: Oh. My. Gosh. I am besides myself trying to find the perfect words of amazing-ness to describe how much I LOVEDDDDD this book. As many of you may or may not know, I am a HUGE Pretty Little Liars fan. Like HUGE. (not to much of a fan of the T.V. show: I stopped watching after they added new characters that weren't in the book....like who does that?!!?!?!) So this book pretty much just completed my heart. *sigh*

When the four-some, Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily all come together and then do something bad, you know that it's gunna be killer. Like whoa. Shepard, (who is a genius, might I add! Love her! ...read my review of The Lying Game here.) writes a story that is complex, new and original that brings flare to the series. The girls get in some trouble of their own and the mysterious A returns. A new twist/mystery is thrown in when the background for the story is that the girls did something terrible in Jamaica on spring break, which you don't really find out what happens until about halfway into the book but it is worth waiting for!

More lies, new twists and more chaos! I can't wait for the next couple books in the series that Shepard has announced.

Plot: 5
Characters: 3.5
Cover: 4
Style of Writing: 4.5
Overall: 4.7 (YAY!!!!)

Would I ever read from this author again?: Yes!!!!

A Sweeter Rhythm: Short Story Review

At the request of T.L. Peters, I am honored to review this story.

A Sweeter Rhythm by T.L. Peters

Now on sale at the following online book sellers:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Sweeter-Rhythm-ebook/dp/B0053NY2P8

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-sweeter-rhythm-tl-peters/1031340107

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/63425

Summary: This story follows the life of a violin as it recounts its many ups and downs over the centuries, changing hands between those who love it and those who don't. (It was previously published by RED OCHRE LiT as A Sweeter Kind of Rhythm.)

My Thoughts: The first impression I got was that I loved the personality that this violin had.  It had a quirky personality that was all it's own and was quite a character. 

As the violin started to tell his story in detail about what happened to him over the years, I got sucked deeper and deeper into wanting to learn more about this violin. It had a strong voice, but unlike any other hero/heroine readers are used to because of the unusual nature of this particular character. 

Peters did a fantastic job using emotion in everything he wrote. He wove a layered story complete with detail and descriptions that were very intriguing. Having not read anything before by T.L. Peters, I am delighted to say that I will surely be looking into his other works. 

An all around feel-good story that stole my heart!

Cover: 3
Plot: 3.5
Characters: 4
Style of Writing: 5
Overall: 4.5

Would I ever read from this author again?: Yes!

Learn more about T.L. Peters at his blog:

http://tlpeters.blogspot.com/ 

Update/Plans for the Summer

UPDATE:

Whew! It's already June 19th! OK, so let's see...SCHOOL IS OVER IN 3 1/2 DAYS!!! Boo-yahh ;) But even with everything winding down, nothing is really getting more relaxing. I just had a crazy week with finals and handing in all these final projects and presentations almost every day last week.

AND...Monday (tomorrow) I still have to hand in one more project in one class and present in another class! I have get two tests that need correcting, hand those in, then on Tuesday we have ONE.MORE.TEST. *sigh* Then Wednesday we have an all day field trip to some state park and then Thursday is a half day! Then...............drum roll, please...............SUMMER!!!!

SUMMER PLANS:

Summer. What a wonderful word. Sleeping late, pool time, popcicles, watermelon, BBQ's and time with the family. 

I have some summer plans for the blog as well: Starting in July, I'm challenging myself to read 30 books over the months of my summer vacation. (I will be posting a list of books soon)  I will be involved in some mini-challenges over at Holes in My Brain and others.

Reviews, fun posts, giveaways and more! Stay tuned for a long, happy summer here at A Corner of My Bookshelf!

I have been so bad at posting lately, but stick with me, because I have some great things in mind for these next couple months...it will be good :)

What do you have planed?

Happy Sunday/Father's Day!

~Zoe 

Lock and Key

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Publication Date: 2008
Publisher: Speak
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 422 
Source: Borrowed from a friend


Summary: Ruby is used to taking care of herself. But now she's living in a fancy new house with her sister Cora—a sister she hasn't seen in ten years—and her husband Jamie—creator of one of the most popular online networking sites. She's attending private school, wearing new clothes, and for the first time, feels the promise of a future that include college and her family. So why is she so wary? And what is Nate— the adorable and good-hearted boy next door— hiding behind his genial nature? As Ruby starts to see, there's a big difference between being given help, and being able to accept it. And sometimes, in order to save yourself, you've got to reach out to someone else.

My Thoughts: Wow! This was my second Sarah Dessen book I have ever read and I must just say, "Wow!". She deffintely impressed me with this one. It started out really slow but soon enough, I really got into it. I fell in love with the character Ruby and the way that her story weaved into everything about her.

Her love interest, Nate, wasn't my favorite boy character to fall in love with the heroine. But I thought he was portrayed well.


The only thing that I would have changed would have been the way that Dessen seemed to stretch out everything. I think shorter and too-the-point scenes would have been just as satisfying.

Cover: 3.5
Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Style of writing: 5
Overall: 4

Would I ever read from this author again?: Yes! I am just now starting Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen.


*ALSO...I have been such a bad blogger lately! I have been so busy and not reading as much as I would have hoped/liked to so I haven't been finishing many books. UGH! Be sure to stay tuned, (not too corny, right?!) because I will surely have more to come!*

Follow Friday (5)

It's that time again! Happy Follow Friday! Go check it out and join the fun at Parajunkee's View.

This weeks question is:

How many books do you read in a week? And in what format do you read them? 

My answer:

Well, lately I haven't been doing as much reading as I like/want to because of my crazy schedule. But normally, I will read about 2-3 books a week. I like reading on the nook and just plain old-fashioned flipping the pages!

What about you?

Follow Friday (4)

Good morning and Happy Friday! I'm participating once again in Parajunkee's Follow Friday.

The question:

What are some of your quirky habits or things about you?

My answer:

1. I love pickles. Always have. Always will. 

2. I like the smell of nail polish. 

3. I like to search baby naming sites to find ones that I think are cute and put them together :) 

4. I hate rain. 

5. I hate beets. 

How about you? What are some quirky things you want to share?

New Design!

Yay, yay, yay!!! My new design is finally done! What do you think? It was all done by the work of Kyla at Kyla Kreates! So click around, see what you think and jot a comment below! I'd love to hear from my viewers/readers.

...

Also, I will be posting a review soon, don't fret, if you were!

I don't really have anything else to say in this post so, Happy Tuesday!