Title: Red Glove (Curse Workers #2)
Author: Holly Black
Published: April, 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 263
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

The cons get craftier and the stakes rise ever higher in the riveting sequel to White Cat. After rescuing his brothers from Zacharov’s retribution and finding out that Lila, the girl he has loved his whole life, will never, ever be his, Cassel is trying to reestablish some kind of normalcy in his life. That was never going to be easy for someone from a worker family that’s tied to one of the big crime families–and whose mother’s cons get more reckless by the day.

But Cassel is coming to terms with what it means to be a transformation worker, and he’s figuring out how to have friends.Except normal doesn’t last very long. Soon Cassel is being courted by both sides of the law and is forced to confront his past–a past he remembers only in scattered fragments, and one that could destroy his family and his future. Cassel will have to decide whose side he wants to be on, because neutrality is not an option. And then he will have to pull off his biggest con ever to survive….

Final Thoughts:
Over a month. I spent over a month picking up and putting this one back down. It just didn’t hook me the same way that White Cat did. While continuing directly on from the previous cliffhanger, a lot of the intrigue had deflated from the plot. I couldn’t find myself interested enough to really want to read this one. I enjoyed all of the characters, Cassel’s sneaky ways, and especially getting to learn more about the side characters—but in a way, that was also what brought things down for me. The mystery, the mob, and the paranormal aspects of the curse working became ancillary to the Lila/Cassel, Sam/Deneca drama.

Title: Endure (Need #4)
Author: Carrie Jones
Published: May, 2012 by Bloomsbury
Pages: 262
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

It’s all-out war (and no-holds-barred romance) in the climactic conclusion to Carrie Jones’s bestselling series.

Zara is at the center of an impending apocalypse. True, she’s successfully rescued Nick from Valhalla, but it simply isn’t enough. Evil pixies are ravaging Bedford, and they need much more than one great warrior; they need an army. Zara isn’t sure what her role is anymore. She’s not just fighting for her friends; she’s also a pixie queen. And to align her team of pixies with the humans she loves will be one of her greatest battles yet. Especially since she can’t even reconcile her growing feelings for her pixie king . . .

Unexpected turns, surprising revelations, and one utterly satisfying romantic finale make Endure a thrilling end to this series of bestsellers.

Final Thoughts:
I’ve been stuck on this one for a while, and it’s slowed down my reviewing because of it. Something must have changed in my tastes since I read the last one because I just couldn’t get into Endure. It took me what felt like ages to get through Zara’s often immature inner monologues and barely plotted journey. It really felt like there was nothing happening. The characters went places, sought out things, even brought together a large scale battle, but it still felt like there was very little to the story. The romantic aspect was especially lacking, even though there was a love triangle. Neither boy brought much in the way of swoon-worthiness, leaving me wondering why I even bothered with this book.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read and share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

I’ve been missing around here for a while. Reading took a back seat, spending my free hours after work writing a short story I needed to get done. Anyway, I just picked up the latest Cassandra Clare book in hopes of drawing me back in again. I know not everyone loves these newer books in the series, but I can’t wait.

“Then you tell me why his body isn’t there, because it isn’t,” she said, her voice finally breaking. “There’s nothing up there but a lot of blood and broken glass. They’re both gone, Simon. Jace is gone…”

– City Of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare, page 4.
Published by Margaret K. McElderry in May, 2012.

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

• Vampire Academy: Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead (purchased)
• Frostbite: Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead (purchased)
• Fury by Rebecca Lim (purchased)
• Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck (purchased)
• The Industry by Rose Foster (purchased)

I stopped by a shopping centre on my lunch break last week and ended up walking out with another five books I wasn’t looking for. I saw the second Vampire Academy graphic novel was out so I decided to just pick them both up. I still have to read the actual Frostbite sometime though before I get into these. Fury and Tiger’s Voyage are both additions to series I’ve haven’t yet started on, but felt like grabbing for whenever I actually do. The last book, The Industry sounded like something different from the usual paranormal romances I keep getting sucked into, so it made it onto my stack too. I’m still reading Red Glove at the moment. I’ve been on it for over a week, but just haven’t gotten the same connection I had with the first book. I’m hoping to finish it in the next day or so though.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Green, John, The Fault In Our Stars
Lord, Gabrielle Conspiracy 365 #6-9, June to September

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Title: The Fault In Our Stars
Author: John Green
Published: January, 2012 by Penguin
Thanks: Penguin, AU
Pages: 313
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Final Thoughts:
Oh my…this was the book I needed to read. I’ve been in a slump lately, taking a while to read books that were okay, but that really didn’t do a whole lot for me. The Fault In Our Stars draws you out of whatever little crook you’ve been hiding in and shoves you head first into a world of feeling. I got this one a couple months back, but I’ve been avoiding picking it up mainly because I’d just read another amazing book that dealt with teen cancer and needed the break to prepare myself. On a whim, I snatched this one off my shelf and took it with me to pass the time in a waiting room and ended up almost finishing the book. Albeit the wait was 4+ hours, but it flew by. I was engrossed. I had to eventually stop myself and put it away—the tears were struggling against my flickering eyelids. Sure I could have continued struggling against a break down in public, pausing every now and again—but I wanted to give this book the attention—and the release—it deserved, so I waited, and dove back in as soon as I got home and utterly adored every second of it.

Title: September (Conspiracy 365 #9)
Author: Gabrielle Lord
Published: September, 2010 by Scholastic
Pages: 181
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

On New Year’s Eve, Cal is chased down the street by a staggering, sick man with a deadly warning…”They killed your father. They’ll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days. Hurled into a life on the run the 15-year-old fugitive is isolated and alone.

Final Thoughts:
These books are so short, so I thought I’d leave the reviewing until I got through a chunk of them. I’ve just read June through September over the past week, diving into them, hoping for some new discoveries, understanding the clues that have been dropped so far, and finally getting some closure. Being the middle of the series, we didn’t get too much of that. Instead, these books sought to develop the friendship between Cal, Boges and the mysterious girl, Winter. There are trust issues brought into it, and lots of betrayals that definitely warranted that scepticism. Reading them back to back like this, it’s easy to see how formulaic these books are. Each one begins with a quick resolution of whatever cliffhanger had proceeded it, leaving Callum scrambling to pull things back together, then another month of running around, looking for clues, leading up to another catastrophe that just happens to fall on the final day of each month.

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (thanks to Publisher)
• Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins (thanks to Publisher)
• Allegiance by Cayla Kluver (thanks to Publisher)
• Fated by Alyson Noel (thanks to Publisher)
• Unafraid by Michael Griffo (thanks to Publisher)
• Revived by Cat Patrick (purchased)
• Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (purchased)
• Winter’s Light by M.J. Hearle (thanks to Publisher)

I’ve been in Sydney the past week on a business trip, took a stack of books, but I never got around to reading them. I did get some reading done on the plane, but not enough to write any reviews. I will fix that soon. When I got back a couple days ago, I was met with six of these books–so thanks to those who sent them to me! I don’t know where to start. I’m tempted to pick up The Immortal Rules, but Fated sounds pretty good too.

Here are my latest reviews if you want to check them out:
Smith, Alexander Gordon Escape From Furnace #5, Execution

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!