Very Unique but something was missing

What's left of me (The Hybrid Chronicles #1) by Kat Zhang

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
352 pages
Buy it @ book depository
Released: September 2012

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Review

I had high hopes for this book. I was really looking forward to reading it because it sounded so interesting. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as I had hoped. I don't know what it was about this that I didn't like. Maybe it was the worldbuilding, I couldn't get sucked into it because a lot of things weren't really explained. Like why society decided to get rid of their other souls? What's so wrong with having another soul? I know it's picky but neither the mystery behind why or the characters were engaging enough to make me want to gobble it up.

The book is from Eva's point of view even though she is the soul hidden within Addie. It was very easy to get used to the idea of two people living within one body and I think it's very unique. I really liked Eva and I feel bad for rooting for her to take over their body because that meant Addie would be the one stuck inside.

This book felt more sci-fi than dystopian to me, which I have to say I really liked! I don't normally read sci-fi books but this may have opened up a whole new genre for me.

Overall I did like it and will most likely read the next book in the series but the story & characters weren't flawless in my eyes.

*I received my edition of this book from HarperCollins Australia and NetGalley*

On the cover

What a unique cover! It's like an optical illusion with the face inside a face, It reminds me of the rubin vase image. I also really like the colours on this cover, it makes the book seem sterile on the outside but there's something beautiful hidden beneath.

What I'm reading next: Fireproof by Alex Kava

Linkin Park nails

Since 2001 I have been a fan of Linkin Park when I first heard 'One Step Closer'. I have been to see them live twice and tomorrow is going to be my third time, I'm so excited!
What better way to show my love of them than painting my nails with their band logos.

I started with my base colours of black & blue as shown below

Then I applied the same blue nail polish to a make up sponge and dabbed it onto the middle of my nails that have the black nail polish. Using a very thin nail polish brush I did the first logo on my thumb. The picture below is my nails and the logo I tried to re-create.

Once that was dry I did the final touches to the first logo to make it stand out a little bit and did the second logo on my ring finger all using the same thin nail art brush. Below is the logo I tried to re-create.

Now I can't have a post about Linkin Park without having one of their music videos for you to enjoy.

Do you like Linkin Park? What's your favourite song?

Has Felix's story ended this time?

After (Once #4) by Morris Gleitzman

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts

209 pages

Buy it @ book depository

Released: July 2012

"In the fourth part of Felix's story, continuing his adventures in World War Two, he faces perhaps his greatest challenge - to find hope when he's lost almost everything, including his parents. As Europe goes through the final agonizing stages of the war, Felix struggles to reconcile hatred and healing. He's helped by a new friend, but if he should lose her as well ..."

Review

Another great Felix story narrated on Audiobook by Morris Gleitzman. Felix feels so real to me, he is a character that will stick with you forever and so will his stories. I'd love to see these books made into a movie, I wonder who they would get to play Felix.

We continue Felix's story from the end of the second book "Then", after having spent two years in a hole in a barn Felix ventures out and comes across a group of partisans who are fighting against the Nazi's. He joins this group and so his story continues. As with the other books in this series you will be in for a tear jerker and horrifying war scenes. If you would like to read the first chapter of this story then click here. These books are aimed at a younger audience but I think someone of any age would enjoy these stories. I also feel that lower primary aged children might not be able to read this one specifically as there is a scene towards the end that may be too mature for them.

I believe there's still more we need to find out about Felix. What happened to him after the war and there's the story of how and why he immigrated to Australia. I reckon that Morris Gleitzman should call it "Before" because it's before his happily ever after.

Click on the links to read my reviews of 'Once', 'Then' & 'Now'.

On the cover

This cover depicts exactly what you will expect from this book. Lots of snow, war & forests.
I really love this cover, the red jumps right off the page like blood maybe?

What I'm listening on Audio to next: Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Book cover style ~ Paranormalcy

In this post I will show you a favourite cover of mine and 

show you how you can re-create the look of this cover. I hope you like it!

In a previous post I did the cover for 'Clockwork Princess' by Cassandra Clare, but in this post I have picked a favourite series of mine and decided to re-create the last book in the series. 

Below is a picture of 'Endlessly' by Kiersten White and how you can re-create the same look from that book cover.
Kiersten also has a blog that you should follow :)

Endlessly by lovesami featuring lancôme

Midi dress
48 AUD - boohoo.com

Almay eyeshadow
4.83 AUD - target.com

Lancôme
29 AUD - cusp.com

Schwarzkopf
19 AUD - nelly.com

Opi nail polish
24 AUD - nelly.com



To re-create this look it will cost $124.83 but I reckon you could get that lipgloss & polish at cheaper prices.

What book cover would you like me to re-create next? 

 

The best books tend to hide behind unlikely covers

The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts
488 pages
Buy it @ book depository
Released: December 2012

"When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living."

Review 

 

“The darkest minds tend to hide behind the most unlikely faces”

I love this quote! It really jumped out to me as a perfect sum up for the whole book. The feelings I got while reading this were the same sort of feelings I got when I was reading Divergent.  I was thinking that this was like nothing I’ve read before, I love the idea behind the story.

Ruby is a great character, she is beautiful but doesn’t know it because she’s been locked up in a camp for children with special powers for about 6 six years. She's also very strong and loyal. I liked her almost straight away and wanted to know more about her. The other characters that Ruby befriends were also really likeable. They make a great mix of kids and I'd love to ride around with them in Black Beauty.

What I really liked most was the slow paced romance between Ruby and Liam. In my books I like the the story to be fast paced but I like my romance to be slow paced. I like it when the connection between the love interests slowly bubble into something truly swoonworthy. That's what I got with these characters. Their feelings for each other couldn't always be shown because of Ruby's special powers and what might happen if she touches someone.

The small thing that stopped it from getting to 5 stars was the why? Why do the kids have super powers? How does it only effect them and not the adults? Where did it come from? I hope some of these questions are answered in the next book but other than that very small issue I loved this!

Oh and I can not forget that ending! This is going to be really hard to have to wait til November to find out what happens next. Maybe I might read her first book Brightly Woven (which is not part of this series) before then.

On the cover

 

This cover is totally wicked and now I know what the symbol on the front cover means. It tells you a lot about what you're going to expect from this book, i'll give you a hint - dark and intriguing.

What I'm reading next: What's left of me by Kat Zhang

Terrestrial Nails - Nail Polish Swatches

Franken Nail Polishes are all the rage now in the nail polish lovers world, so of course I HAD to jump on the band wagon.

Terrestrial nail polishes are my first handmade polish purchases. The three polishes I purchased are 'Alice', 'Piggy' and 'Vampy'.

There's not many people in Australia making their own Franken nail polish so you'd be looking at paying a little bit for postage from America but if you find something you love it's worth it!

This is my swatch of 'Vampy'. I used it as a Christmas nail art design.

This is a milky white base with very tiny gold glitter, small red hex glitter and red star glitter.

This is 3 layers of the polish and I kind of wished I had put it over some white polish because then you could have seen the red stars in it a bit better.

It was pretty easy to apply and the stars came out without having to struggle to get them out.

This is my swatch of 'Piggy'. It is a very light pink base with tiny pink & gold glitter, small pink hex glitter, medium gold hex glitter and large black hex glitter.

This is 2 layers over a very opaque pink polish and I liked it because a good amount of all glitters came out in one application.

I like how this colour looked. One thing was that it looked like a matte polish once I was done so I applied a top coat to make it shiny.

This is my swatch of 'Alice'. It's a milky white base with tiny gold glitter, small black round glitter, very large gold hex glitter, large gold stars and large blue diamonds.

This is 3 layers over an opaque white polish. This polish was VERY runny so the bigger glitter was very difficult to get out. I had to shake the bottle every time and fish out the big glitter.

I don't know why this polish was thinner than the other polishes I bought but I still like it and it was worth the extra work to get the bigger glitter out.

Which one do you like best? Let me know if you have a favourite Franken polish.

Not a star in my eyes

Dark Star (Dark Star #1) by Bethany Frenette

Rating: 2 out of 5 hearts
368 pages
Buy it @ book depository
Released: October 2012

Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it's hard for Audrey not to feel safe. That is, until she's lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human--something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn't fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers--livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person's memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers' next move. But Leon, her mother's bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won't let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything--and everyone--she loves.

Review

My first thoughts about this book were that it was going to be about superheroes, which I thought would be exciting and new as I've never read a book about a superhero before, but it wasn't. Audrey's mum is the 'superhero' with super strength who goes out into the night to fight crime with her sidekick Leon. Audrey on the other hand has the 'Knowing' which means she can read tarot cards and get certain feelings from people, sort of like a psychic.

I felt like the plot for the story was repeated over and over again. Audrey would put herself in danger, she'd get saved and then she would be given a slight bit of background information about her life. This happened so many times and it got annoying. Over and over again it would be the same pattern: in danger, gets saved, background information.

One thing I did like about this was the romance. It was fairly predictable who Audrey's love interest was, but I enjoyed reading about it because it was slow and there wasn't any kissing til right at the end which made it all the more exciting when it finally did happen.

I'd love to read a prequel story about Audrey's mum because her back story sounds cool and I'd like to read about her doing some serious butt kicking (who wouldn't really).

I think I will probably read the next one but not in any hurry as I wasn't dying to find out what happens in the next book. I'd like to see what other people thought about this too.

I received this Galley through NetGalley from Disney-Hyperion.

On the cover

This cover is awesome! I love the reflection of the buildings on the side of the building. Too bad what the cover shows you never happens in the book. 

 What I'm reading next: Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

 

January Nail Art Challenge ~ part two

I'm a little late in showing you the last half of the January Nail Art Challenge. The last half I felt like it was rushed and I didn't do such a good job. Well you can judge for yourself.

Polka dots nails! Someone mentioned that these nails look a little like licorice allsorts. 

After a couple of days the bright color of the dots faded slightly.

 

I couldn't think what to do for Burgundy so I put my matte top coat over a shiny burgundy polish and I added the silver diamantes so that I was covering two manis. 

Not a favourite of mine, I don't really like the burgundy polish.

I also put two mani together - Vintage & Shiney. I wasn't sure what shiney meant, I guessed super shiney color which is the red. I wanted to do a different sort of vintage than the normal pale color polish and roses so I thought this would be cool. Unfortunately my flowers didn't turn out so well.

Have you participated in this challenge or are participating now? Leave a link to your post in the comments and I'll check it out

Welcome back!

Bloodlines (Bloodlines # 1) by Richelle Mead

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts

421 pages

Buy it @ Book depository
Released: August 2011

"Blood doesn't lie...

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning..."

Review 

I really, really liked this! I don't care what other people are saying about this, I loved being able to spend some more time in the world of Vampire Academy (well it's sort of Vampire Academy). A lot of people love Rose because she's this hot headed, rule breaker and simply butt kicking awesome. Sydney on the other hand is structured, scientific and doesn't really like to take risks. So I think that's why some people didn't like this as much as the Vampire Academy because they like Rose better than Sydney.

I found it really easy to get back into Richelle Mead's style of writing. I'm not a huge fan of big books but I always find that I don't even notice the length of these books because they are so enjoyable and easy to get sucked into.

What I liked most about Sydney was that she had room to grow. Being an alchemist she has had rules drummed into her about how to feel about Vampires, and that feeling is fear. So it was really cool to see her trying to overcome some of those fears.

Some of our favourite characters are back in this and the main one I loved was Adrian. I'm glad we get to see him so much more in this series. I felt so bad for him at the end of 'Last Sacrifice' that I'm glad we see him start to get over Rose. I have a feeling there may be a romance between Adrian & Sydeny? I hope so!

So now onto the story. I thought the mystery surrounding the tattoos was really interesting although I had an idea of who was behind it, but I didn't have a clue why that person was behind it. I thought this was a great start to a new series with already loved characters and I'm looking forward to reading the next ones.

On the cover

Here I am again with these covers. Although this time I know that's Sydney & Adrian on the front because it looks so much like their description. I wonder what Adrian is looking at though, has Sydney got something in her ear?

What I'm reading next: Dark Star by Bethany Frenette