It’s Wednesday which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the last week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

I really haven’t done any reading in the last week with my US trip at the moment… but I amm listening to Insurgent by Veronica Roth at the moment!

What did you recently finish reading?

I last finished Purity by Jackson Pearce. Pretty good… not my fave of her books, but entertaining and enjoyable!

What do you think you’ll read next?

After I finish Insurgent and Bad Taste In Boys I have a whole bunch of ARCs to read… even more so with my three week trip slowing me down!!

What is everyone out there reading at the moment?

]]> http://booknerdreviews.com/2012/05/w-w-w-wednesdays-42/feed/ 0 http://booknerdreviews.com/2012/05/the-name-of-the-star-the-shades-of-london-1-maureen-johnson/ http://booknerdreviews.com/2012/05/the-name-of-the-star-the-shades-of-london-1-maureen-johnson/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 05:23:47 +0000 Melissa http://booknerdreviews.com/?p=1528 Continue reading »]]>

Synopsis: The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London, it’s the start of a new life at a boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Review: I listened to The Name Of The Star on audiobook, and the narrative was really great. There were so many accents to try and do, from Rory’s southern accent, to the different English dialects and the narrator was amazing at this, transitioning into each one with ease which made the book very easy to listen to and get sucked in to.

Overall it was actually a pretty cool story. Rory moves from Louisiana to London where she’s studying. She finds herself in dangers way however when someone is copying the Jack The Ripper murders to the nth detail. Same dates, same murder styles at each crime.. but he is ready to go further this time than the original Jack The Ripper ever did. And when Rory sees someone at one of the crime scenes she fears he is now after her.

Rory has some spunk and sass about her which I really enjoyed. I had a few laugh out loud moments throughout the book at her reactions to things, her her smart ass comments to her roomates. She’s great value! She’s also vulnerable when she needed to be, and showed a great deal of bravery and strength too.

The supernatural factor in this book is huge, but we don’t really get into that until maybe the second half of the book. Definitely a cool perspective on the whole Ripper story, and honestly I didn’t know where the book was going to take me when it all unfolded. I was dubious at first, but ended up really liking the storyline as a whole.

Maureen has done a fabulous job at setting us up for the second book in the Shades of London series, and I am quite interested to see where the storyline is going to take us.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Trailer:

I thought I would quickly update and let you all know how my USA trip is going in a nutshell!

I just spent the last 4 days in West Hollywood, and had the most amazing time with my friend. Of course when you’re in Hollywood you need to do a Hollywood tour of the stars homes, and we started there. Corny, and you coudn’t see anything, but hey…we did it! We got to spend some time in Bel Air, Beverley Hills, Hollywood Hills, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood Boulevard and of course our neighbourhood which was amazing… we were in a predominantly Mexican neighbourhood not really used to tourists. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. We met some incredible people and learnt their stories, and some friends I will keep for a lifetime. Also saw some really crazy stuff that I am still trying to process as well! LA is a city that is certainly not inhibited in any way, shape or form. So different to home!

So today we packed up and left LA and we’re now in Anaheim, excited to go to Disneyland! We think we will go tonight before the fireworks to check it out and then we have two full days there to really experience it!

Not buying a lot of books here cause they weigh so much in my bag! But I am having the trip of a lifetime! I hope to be able to update maybe once or twice more over the trip to say hello and let you know what I am up to! I hope you’re all well and good too!

x

Synopsis: In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

Review: This is the very fist book of Julie Kagawa’s that I have read, but it most definitely will not be the last. The Immortal Rules has a lasting impression on me, and I am in love with her style of writing! (Side note: I do own her Iron Fey series so I am going to endeavour to get around to this very soon!)

The Immortal Rules tells the story of Allison (Allie) Sekemoto a human girl who lives her life as one of the “Unregistered” humans in a city ruled by vampires. She is a scavenger, along with the others she lives with, trying to do the best she can to survive, find food and most importantly, avoid the rabids and vampires that come out at night time.

Unfortunately for Allie, she does find herself in a situation where she’s attacked rather savagely by the rabids (mutant sorts of vampires), and dying on the ground, a vampire finds her and offers her either death, or immortality as a vampire. She choses immortality, becoming a vampire herself.

A situation erupts, which forces Allie to have to leave her maker and flee for her own safety. It’s then she meets a group of religious travellers trying to find the safe haven they call Eden. Mistaken as a human, Allie blends in with them, agreeing to try to find Eden with them. It’s there she meets Zeke (a human), and she becomes closer to him. Trying really hard to lie undetected as a vampire, Allie blends in as much as possible without being caught out. Unfortunately for her though, she has competition to deal with in the form of Ruth, who also likes Zeke and makes it quite clear that Allie is to keep her distance if she knows what is good for her.

From here something huge happens. Something so huge it’s probably not fair for me to spoil it for you, but honestly this is such a powerful book. Julie Kagawa’s ability to make you feel so connected to someone such as a vampire, who so often is portrayed to be this souless monster is amazing. I really cared about the characters and was genuinely wanting for them to pull through and just be okay. And Allie is SO kick ass… she’s such an amazing female character. I loved her strength and bravery.

There’s also some deeper messages in the book. No matter how strongly you believe in something, it’s okay to question that sometimes. It’s also about second chances and not judging people at face value. It’s actually a really strong message throughout the book.

Definitely a new perspective of a very popular YA theme (vampires). I honestly can’t say I’ve read a dystopian style vampire book, but it was refreshing to say the least, and where the books finishes off made me pine for the next one already.

This one is a must read!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Trailer:

For those of you playing from home, here is what my itinery looks like at the moment:

May 9 – 13: LA/Hollywood and surrounds

May 13 – 16: Disneyland for three solid days! I am so excited!

May 16 – 20: Bus from Disneyland to Las Vegas… and whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! haha I plan to do some major shopping there!

May 20 – 25: New York! We’re flying American Airlines from Vegas to NY, and we will have 5 solid days there. So much planned already whilst we’re there!

May 25 – 26: Boston for one night. Last minute thing, but we’ve got Red Sox tickets for the game on May 25th! I am super excited!

May 26 – 27: New Jersey for one night… we’re hoping to visit Carlo’s Bakery (from Cake Boss), but it’s a couple of hours from Atlantic City so unsure as to whether it’s happening or not.

May 27 – 30: Back in NY to finish off our trip!! Shopping, site seeing…. OMG. New York has me the most excited of the whole stay.

I am hoping to be able to post pics along the way, but in the instance I can’t, I would definitely recommend adding me to twitter – @booknerdreviews if you haven’t as I’ll post some pics on Instamatic where possible!

xx