Struck by Jennifer Bosworth- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genres: Apocalypse, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 8th, 2012

Source: Publisher- thank you to Macmillan!
My Review:

In Struck, we meet Mia Price. She is what you would call a lightening addict. She's been struck by lightening many, many times, and she craves the energy she gets when she gets struck. Mia lives in Los Angeles, and they're in the aftermath of a terrible earthquake, trying to rebuild. Mia has to care for her younger brother, Parker, and her mother, who may or may not have a mental disorder because of the earthquake. But Mia meets two different groups of people, who want her to do different things, things that she doesn't thing she's capable of. In the end, Mia has to make a choice. Who will she side with? What will she sacrifice?

The cover of Struck is really pretty. You can slightly see the scars she has on her arms, if you look carefully. And all the colors create such a nice setting, it's so pretty to watch. Overall, it's really nice!

First off, let's talk about Mia. I loved her. She's so smart, and sassy, and she's a pretty tough girl. I loved her sarcasm. I'm a pretty sarcastic person, so I really appreciated it. Even though she had a tough-girl appearance, she wasn't exactly tough on the inside. I loved how she was a little bit layered; there was more to her than at first sight. She was a really well-done character.

The whole idea of this book was also really unique. I mean, a lightening addict? Yes please! It's so cool! Totally not your whole typical vampire or werewolf thing. There was a lot more to the story though, and there were a lot more elements. Overall, it wasn't too confusing of a world. It made sense, and it was well thought out. Definitely kudos to the author to coming up with such an awesome idea that I've never read about before! That's hard to do in YA now-a-days!

I enjoyed the romance during the first half of the book. It wasn't too rushed, and I liked how Mia was freaked out by Jeremy [who is the main guy in the story] at first too. It wasn't insta-love. However, more towards the end of the book, it seemed way too rushed for me, and it didn't exactly work. They were supposed to have this 'connection' that I didn't get. It wasn't even explained.

At the end of the book, I was left with questions. I'm not going to list any here, because I don't want to spoil anything for you all, but there were some things that weren't ever explained. I think the author could have added just a little more information, and everything would make sense. That being said though, I'm really glad this story is a stand-alone. I'm pretty sure I've never read a Apocalypitc/Urban Fantasy book that hasn't been part of a series, so it was a total relief to learn I don't have to agonize and torture myself waiting for another book. Yay for stand-alones!

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a really good read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a unique story that hasn't been told before!




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Aneeqah's New Blog!

Hi guys!

So, after lots of encouragement from Ms. B [Kathy] and Lucy, I have decided to start my own blog! I will still be posting occasionally here, with my NetGalley reviews and a few other things as well. But my main, day-to-day posting will be over at my new blog. I'm so excited to be heading into the book blogging world on my own! If you guys would like to follow me there, that would be great. You can find me at My Not So Real Life.

Thank you so much to Kathy for getting me started with book blogging. None of this would have happened without you!!

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Bloggiesta Update!

Hello everyone, this is Aneeqah once again! So, I have been hard at work on the blog. And I must say, I'm loving Bloggiesta! The mini-challenges are so great, and I've learned about so many things, like Windows Live Writer and SEO! I'm having a blast finally working on things that I've been meaning to do for such a long time.

Anyways, so here's my updated list:

-Update all reviews to GR
-Label all my posts
-Make sure all posts have same formatting
-Learn a little HTML coding
-Clean up the sidebars
-Update my challenge lists
-Update my read in 2012 list
-Write & schedule at least 4 posts- I want this to be a priority for me! I want to be more consistent in posting, and scheduling posts will help me do that.
-Update the calendar- add all the new releases and my posts
-Organize my TBR
-Update my NetGalley reviews
-Begin & finish adding all my reviews to Amazon
-Schedule a TBR post for April
-Find & follow at least 5 new blogs

-Explore & use Windows Live Writer

-Update the About Me page

-Look into making a graphic for my ratings

-Find/or make social media icons & add them to the sidebar

So, not bad! Hopefully, I'll get more things done tomorrow. What have you all gotten accomplished so far in Bloggiesta?



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Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life- Teen Reviewer!
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Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Genres: Historical Fiction, Dystopia
Release Date: Feburary 7, 2012
Source: The library!

Let me start of by saying this: I really wanted to love this book. I've heard so many good things about it, and I just had that feeling that I was going to love it. Also, the authors is so nice on Twitter, and I love her. But unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

So, let's start with the characters. Our protagonist is Cate, who is trying to balance everything from managing her sisters to keeping up with town appearances so no on suspects the Cahill family of witchery. I didn't like Cate at first. She was so stubborn, and sometimes was really plain mean to her sisters. But, I did grow to like her as the story went on. I liked that she wasn't perfect, but sometimes she just got on my nerves [especially towards the end, where she makes some really stupid decisions]. But overall, I liked her, even though she did irritate me.

The setting of the book was interesting. It seems like it's set in a dystopia 1900s type thing. Throughout the book though, I kind of wanted some more information. There was some mention of a Indo-China and war or something like that, but it was only mentioned once or twice. I'm hoping that we get to learn more about that in the next book, because it actually seems pretty interesting. The world-building doesn't seem complete to me in this book, so hopefully we'll learn something in the next one.

The plot started off quite boring, actually in the beginning, but the book really started getting interesting in the middle. There were some good plot twists that I didn't see coming, but there were also a few that were kind of obvious. I definitely wouldn't say this is an action packed book or super fast paced, but it was intriguing; you wanted to know what happened.

Now... the love triangle. I didn't really like it. To me, there was a case of almost insta-love, and I don't really like either of the guys. It's not very well done, and it seemed... a little forced, I guess. It would have been nice to see a little character development in both of the guys, so we could really see what they were like. So, I didn't really like it, at all.

Sometimes in the book, especially at the beginning, everything was downright depressing. Everything was going wrong, their mother is dead, Cate has to protect everyone, keep their identity a secret, etc. I mean, how can a 16 year old girl do that?! I wanted something actually happy for her. I can't imagine living through all that and still being totally sane. A little bit of happiness or happy events would have been great to the story, and make everything seem a little less hopeless, in my opinion.

And then the ending. I feel like it was so abrupt, a definite cliffhanger. We're left with so many questions, and I didn't really understand it. I felt like the events were so rushed. A little more time at the end would have been really good, so that we could understand everything. The book wasn't that fast paced, so the ending felt even more rushed at the end. It seemed like an almost awkward place to stop. Overall, it wasn't a very good ending, especially because it's a total cliffhanger [and we all know how everyone hates a cliffhanger ending].

So, in the end, it was a pretty good book, despite the problems. It was compelling to read, and I was interested in the story. But, there were so many problems that I couldn't fully enjoy the story. I still probably will read the next book [which is going to be called Star Cursed], although I won't be buying it, just getting it from the library.








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Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genres: Contemporary
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Source: NetGalley
My Review:

In this story, we meet Willa. She's moving, once again, but this time, to a new and rich private school in Arizona. There, she meets the popular crew- but she also meets girls who aren't as fortunate as most of the kids at Valley Prep. Willa wants to help. How does she plan to do this? Willa's going to steal from the rich kids, and give gifts to the girls who aren't as rich, or popular.


I feel like this book was made for me [no, not the stealing part, the new kid part!]. I mean, I moved to a new, rich school this year. So, I felt like I could totally relate to that part of it. And I think Ms. Elisa Ludwig defintiely did her research. The way she described going to a new school, where everyone is so rich, is believable. Based on my experience, it all works and makes sense. It's so realistic. Like, how no one seems they're more popular than others, and how's there's not really any kids that get into trouble. My school isn't as extreme as Willa's new school, but that's kind of how it is for me here. That part of the book was perfectly done.


I'm usually not a fan of contemporary, but I liked this book! And, I don't like retellings in general, but I feel like this one was very well done. Usually with a retelling, you know exactly what's going to happen, but I was surprised when I read this book [maybe that's just because I haven't read Robin Hood, so I don't know what happens?]. But, it was very well done, and the author put it into the modern context really well.

I also liked the main character. Willa was very funny, a little sarcastic, and she was caring. That being said, I think she made some really stupid decisions. Does she have to steal things? Why not get a job and help people? There were moments where I wanted to hug her, and moments where I wanted to punch her. But, I could really see her compassion for others through the things she did. She just didn't make the smartest decisions.

There were alot of unanswered questions in this book. I know this is just book one in a series, but at least some questions should be answers. Almost nothing was answered, just left mysteriously dangling. And the ending, was none other than a cliffhanger. We finally get a hint at some answers, and then "BAM!" last page. It was just so frustrating for me.

Overall though, I enjoyed the book. I was really hooked towards the end, I didn't want to stop reading! I would definitely give this book a shot if you like to read contemporary, or want a cute and funny read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read and review this book!




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Halflings by Heather Burch- Review

Reviewed by Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Halflings by Heather Burch
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy,
Release Date: January 17,2012
Source: ALA Midwinter [Thank you to the publisher!]
My Review:

So, in this book we meet Nikki Youngblood, your typical teenager. Or so she thought.But when I mysterious attack on her happens, three strange creatures called Halflings, are sent to protect her. But who are they protecting her from? Why is she being hunted? What's so special about Nikki?

I really liked the action in this book. The book starts out with a bang, and there's lots of action throughout the book that kept me reading, and a few twists I really didn't see coming. It was a really compelling read for me, and I loved that. I finished the book really quickly, since it was short anyways, and I wanted to see what happened. There were lots of questions and some mystery that also kept me hooked throughout the whole book.

Unfortunately, that's where the good really ends for me. Our main character, Nikkki Youngblood, is a strong, worthy fighter who keeps her ground. Or so we're told. I honetstly didn't see Nikki being strong at all throughout the book. She changes who she is for two guys she doesn't even know well at all. If you're telling me that Nikki is a strong character, then you need to show me that. It's the age old rule of "Show, Don't Tell." Would I describe Nikki as strong? Uh, no, not at all. She's just your average main protagonist trying to decide which guy to choose.

Another thing is the insta-love. And the love triangle. Both of these thing annoy me so, so much, I don't think I can voice my contempt for these things. And, guess what? Yep, there's not only insta-love in this book, but there's also a love triangle! Do you know how frustrating this was? Well, it was frustrating. Very frustrating. I like a well done love triangle [like in Cynthia Hand's UNEARTHLY series] but this certainly wasn't well done. Mace was just plain annoying to me. I tried so hard to like him, but he just seemed like an obsessed stalker [which he essentially was, actually]. And I don't understand why Nikki even liked Mace, either. I certainly didn't see why she liked him. Raven, on the other hand, I liked better. He was your typical bad-boy, though. There was nothing unique about him for me. Hard outside, soft inside, yes, yes, we've seen this before. And I especially didn't like the insta-love. Nikki immediately fell in love with both boys, although I could see how the author tried to make it non-insta-love [is that even a word?], but it didn't work, unfortunately. Nothing really did work.

Another thing I disliked was the writing. It was just mediocre. I could see some attempts at good writing, but it didn't work. Like I said before, I could see how the author tried to make Nikki's feelings for Raven build up, but it didn't work. I honestly don't know what was missing. I feel like the author needs a little more writing experience, or something to help out her writing. The writing definitely has potential, though, but it needs work. It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good.

And lastly, but not least, the ending. A cliffhanger. Seriously? The three things I hate: insta-love, poorly done love triangles, and cliffhangers, all in one book. I didn't even fully comprehend the ending, and then "BAM!" it was over. I feel like I blinked, and it was over. There are some cliffhangers that are fantabulously done [which, I really do hate to admit, because I don't like cliffhangers] and they make you want the next book, but this ending didn't really do that for me. Instead of screaming with rage and throwing the book on the floor, I just scratched my head and said "Huh?". I feel like it was much too rushed and seemed kind of weird.

It truly breaks my heart to write this review. I got the opportunity to meet the author at ALA, and I got my book signed by her too. She was such a sweet person, so definitely go out and meet her if you ever get the chance. I'm only sad I didn't like the book as much as I liked her.

So overall, I liked the action, but there was just way too many things that kept me from enjoying the book. I would give this book a shot if it seems like something you might like, but be wary before you start.





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The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg-Review

Reviewed by Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Release Date: February 21,2012
Source: ALA Midwinter [Thank you to the publisher!]


Brie has died, from literal heartbreak. Like, her boyfriend said, "I don't love you." and her heart broke, literally. So now, she must go through the 5 stages of death so she can move on. But things start unraveling with her old life, and Brie can't do anything but watch as things fall apart.

I really liked this book. Brie was so funny, and sarcastic, she was such an amazing protagonist. She was so realistic too, I really felt like I could go and meet her in person [which I would totally love to do, actually]. Throughout her whole journey, she made realistic descioins, although some were frustrating, and at some points, I got kind of mad at her. But overall, I really liked her!

I also liked the whole concept of this book, how you had to pass the 5 stages of grief to move on, and how you had "a little slice of heaven". I feel like it was really well thought out, and everything made sense. Plus, it was so easy to understand, which is a total plus.

Another thing I really liked was the plot. Yes, a few parts were slightly predictable, but there was one twist that I never saw coming at all, which, I absolutely loved. My mouth was literally hanging open! It was that much of a surprise for me. It made sense really, and from there, a lot of other things really clicked for me.

I could truly go on and on talking about this book! But overall, I really loved this book; it was such a cute and moving read. I'm not usually a huge contemp fan, but this is definitely up there in my favorites! You definitely MUST give this book a shot!




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Incarnate by Jodi Meadows- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Genres: Dystopia, Paranormal
Release Date: January 31, 2012
My Review:

First off, thank you so much to HarperCollins for giving me an ARC of this book!

In this story, we meet Ana. She is a totally new soul. In her world, souls have been reincarnated for thousands of years. But before she was born, a person named Ciana died. Ciana should have been reborn, but she wasn't. Instead, Ana, a totally new soul, was born. In the history of their world, this has never happened before. Obviously, people don't like the idea of this. So when Ana travels to the City of Heart to find some answers, she doesn't expect anyone to be nice to her at all. But Sam is.

The world-building was very intricate in this book. The whole thing with reincarnation was really cool, but there were also lots of different creatures, like dragons, sylphs [which are shadow-like things], centaurs, and a bunch of other things. It was really neat, and well-done, except it was a tad bit creepy that you could be reincarnated to be a boy or girl. And that your parents could become your children when they get reincarnated. It's complicated, and yes, a little disturbing, but it's still pretty easy to grasp the idea of this whole incarnation thing.

I liked Ana. She wasn't perfect, not even close to it. She started out insecure, because of all the lies her meany mother told her. But she slowly changed when she realized everything her mother told her was a lie [her mother was a really mean and cruel to her, by the way]. I think her switch from non-trusting to trusting was good, it wasn't too fast or anything. Overall, she was just trying to find out who and what she was supposed to be.

I also liked Sam. He was super sweet and kind, and helped out Ana alot. My only concern was that he was a little too perfect. Just a little. He was always there for Ana, always knew what to say, etc. He didn't really have any bad qualities at all. I really liked that he was sweet, but I also enjoy a flawed character too, but I didn't get that with Sam.

The romance wasn't insta-love, which made me happy! I hate, hate, hate insta-love so much, so I was thrilled when it wasn't the whole love-at-first-sight thing. However, that being said, the romance was just alright for me. I didn't really see a connection between Ana and Sam, except for one thing [which I won't say here, because I think it's a little spoilery]. Maybe I'm just being critical of romance now that I've read Under the Never Sky [because the romance in that book was AMAZING!], but the romance... didn't work. I did appreciate the un-insta-love though.

There was lots of action in this book that really kept me hooked. Lots of unexpected things too, which I loved. There were things that I never say coming and I was like "BAISJFASDVP;OIUA!". I love being taken by surprise, and that happened in this book! And whenever you thought things were getting a little dull, the author always threw something in the book to keep you wanting more. This book had it all, action scenes, running scenes, getting shot-at scenes, slow scenes, and even a big glittering party scene!

The reason this book didn't get a full 5 stars was probably because of Ana. I did say I liked her, but she wasn't unique. For me, she was just your typical girl protagonist. And then the whole creepy thing with incarnation. I just couldn't get over that fact.

Overall, this was a very unique story that I would recommend to anyone looking for a interesting YA story that has it all!




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Everneath by Brodi Ashton - Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Everneath by Brodi Ashton
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genres: Mythology, Paranormal
Release Date: January 24, 2012
My Review:

First of all, thank you to HarperCollins for giving me an ARC of this book!

In Everneath, we meet a girl named Nikki Bennett. She traveled to this place called The Everneath [shocking, yes, I know!] and this guy named Cole 'Fed' off of her energy. So, 6 months later in human years [100 years in Everneath time] she 'wakes up' and chooses to return to her old life. But she only has 6 months.

Obviously, this book is hard to explain, and I didn't do such a good job... If you're still confused about what this book is about [which, you probably are!] check out the Goodreads summary HERE which does a much better job explaining than I do!

First off, let's talk about that cover! It's beautiful! I love the swirling red dress, which is absolutely gorgeous. Overall, a really great cover.

I really liked the mythology in this book. It got confusing at times, but it wasn't any mythology that I've read before, so it was interesting for me to find out more. I'm a huge mythology fan, so this aspect of the book was great!

I also like how layered this book was. It had a whole other side to it, that applies to real life. Nikki was faced with the choice of staying in the real world, where life is tough, and going back to the underworld with Cole, where life is easy. There's alot of those types of choices that we have to make in our life, you know, the whole easy path, hard path thing? And it also touched on addiction a little too. For Nikki, being with Cole was almost an addiction, something she craved, and she had to fight that. So there's alot of undertones in this book, which is something I really enjoyed.

Nikki's old boyfriend, Jack, is a character I really liked. He was so sweet, and he was always there for Nikki. But, he seemed a little over obsessed, to the point where it seemed creepy. He also seemed like "the perfect guy" we so often see in YA. I wished he would have been a little more unique, although I still liked him.

The main thing I didn't like about this book was that it was pretty predictable. I mean, I guessed what was going to happen at the end, and I guessed a few of the things that were supposed to be totally shocking for us. I love it when I guess something in a book, and it turns out totally wrong, but unfortunately, that doesn't happen.

Also, Nikki was kind of irritating for me. When she returns to school, she's so quiet and she whispers everything. It made me want to slap her and say "SPEAK UP!". And she was so blind at times too. Definitely not one of my favorite main characters.

Overall, however, it was a pretty good read! I enjoyed the story and the mythology a lot, so if you a person who loves mythology, give this book a shot.





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In My Mailbox (1)

Hello everybody, this is Aneeqah here! I'm going to be doing a few memes, and hopefully be keeping up with them throughout the year.

Anyways, In My Mailbox [IMM, for short!] is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, where you basically talk about books you've received. So let's get on with it!

For Review [e-copy]:

GoodReads Synopsis:
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

GoodReads Synopsis:
For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.


The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise's aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric-who may or may not betray them.

From Library:

GoodReads Synopsis:
To 17-year-old Leslie, the tattoo is a thing of indescribable beauty, a captivating mark that she must make her own. But this subtle web of eyes and wings brings with it a transformation that no sweet young girl would ever imagine or welcome. Like its predecessor, this stand-alone sequel to Wicked Lovely plunges its youthful heroine into a faery world of almost constant peril. A tantalizing urban fantasy that won't let go.

GoodReads Synopsis:
Tessa doesn't believe in magic. Or Fate. But there's something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening. After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa's own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa's life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.

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Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi- Review

Reviewed by: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Genres: Dystopia/Post Apocalyptic
Release Date: January 3rd, 2012
My Review:

In this book, we have two main characters: Aria and Perry. Aria has never been outside the place she lives in, called the Pods. She basically lives in the Realms, virtual places where you can do anything, be anything, and imagine anything. You don't feel pain or anxiety or anything like that. It's an easy, comfortable life. Perry, however, is an Outsider. He lives out in the open, in a tribe. He doesn't know a comfortable life. He must hunt for food, take care of his little nephew, and try to deal with his brother.

Thank you so much to Harper Collins for giving me an ARC of this book!

First off, lets talk about the cover, since I love judging books by their covers. I love this cover! It really does the book justice, plus, it actually makes sense. It's not some random cover, like a random girl in a random dress [there seem to be a lot of those types of covers out there!]. It hints a little bit at what the story will be about. Overall, the cover is gorgeous!

OK, with that out of the way, lets talk about all the reasons I loved this book...:

-The setting. I really loved the world Rossi has created. Everything was generally easy to understand for me, but it wasn't plain and simple either. It was really great, and well-done.

-The writing. I loved, loved, loved the wording Rossi used, especially the ending. That ending was just amazing. Just the last paragraph. I don't even know why I loved it so much, but I just did. I loved how everything was so vague, but you knew what was happening anyways. It's kind of hard to explain, but nonetheless, I loved it. I also liked Rossi's wording throughout the story. She doesn't come out and say everything directly, but almost dances around it. It's something I liked.

-The characters. The characters were simply amazing. The main characters weren't perfect, they had their flaws, but that made them even better. I also loved how they learned for their mistakes. Learned from each other. Characterization happened! We watched the character grow, and frankly, I don't see that in very many books these days. Plus, they weren't brain-dead or stupid. They used their wits, and weren't frustrating at all. And I love how the side-characters also had great personalities. I personally loved Roar. He was a funny type guy that I immediately liked. And even Cinder had his good qualities. Overall, we have a great crew of characters in this book!

-The romance. This was probably the main winner in the story for me. Usually, I'm not a fan of romance in books. Actually, almost 99% of the time, I'm not a big fan of romance in stories. And I especially despise insta-love. Especially insta-love. *shudder* We can talk about my hate for insta-love later, but let it be known that I really, really, don't like insta-love. But this story, for once, didn't have insta-love! A big shock, yes, I know. The romance in this book was slow, sweet, and it developed over the course of the story. It wasn't like:
Girl: "Hi there!"
Boy: "Hey!"
*20 seconds later*
Girl: "I love you!"
Boy: "I love you sooo much!* and all that other mushy stuff I hate. We could see the slight changes of feelings throughout the book. Definitely one of my favorite things about the book!

So why didn't I give this book a full 5 stars? There's two reasons...:

-The Aether. I really don't understand what the Aether actually is. Rossi really didn't give us explanation about it. Is it like a layer of the sky? Or is it the actual sky? It's something that really confuses me, and I think it will play a very big role in the next book, so I think we need to know more about the Aether.

-The last few pages. I know I said I loved the ending above, but that's basically the last paragraph. The last few pages of the book, lots of time flies by. Thing is, we don't know how much time went by, or what happened to the characters during this time. I know at least a few months have gone by, and during this book, that's a fairly long time, since some major events happen before this all this time flies by. So I would really like some extra details on what exactly happened. Hopefully, what happened during this mysterious amount of time will be explained in the next book [which, by the way, I'm absolutely dying to read].

Wow, have you ever heard people say how hard it is to talk about a book you love? I never believed them, but let me tell you, after writing this review, it's really hard to describe exactly why I loved this book so much. My advice though? Go read this book. You won't regret it.





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Challenge List for 2012!

Aneeqah's Not So Real Life

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Hey guys! I'm really excited to be joining some challenges in 2012. There's SO many that I want to do, but here are the ones I've chosen:





2012 YA Contemporary Challenge
My goal for this challenge is to read 10 young-adult contemporary books. I usually read a lot of fantasy and dystopia, so I think this challenge will help me to branch out a little with my reading. Here is [so far] the list of books I plan on reading:

1. The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenburg
2. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
3. The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
4. The Fine Art of Truth and Dare by Melissa Jensen
5. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
6. Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti
7. Pizza, Love, And Other Stuff That Made Me Famous by Kathryn Williams
8. Flirting In Italian by Lauren Henderson
9. Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig
10. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson





2012 Stand-Alone Challenge
The goal for this challenge is to read 15 young-adult stand-alone books. I've only read a few stand-alone books in the past, because I like series better. But with all these cliffhanger endings in books lately, I think reading stand-alone books could really save me some anticipation! =) Here's my tenative list as of right now:

1. Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
2. The Raft by S.A. Bodeen
3. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody
4. Fracture by Megan Miranda
5. Slide by Jill Hathaway
6. The Catasrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
7. Above by Leah Bobet
8. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
9. This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
10. When the Sea Is Rising Red by
11. Something Strange and Deadly
12. The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long
13. ??
14. ??
15. ??



Debut Author Challenge
The goal for this challenge is to read 12 books by a first-time author. I've never kept track of authors before, really, so I'm interested to see how many debuts I can read this year! My list:
1. Fracture by Megan Miranda
2. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
3. Harbigner by Sara Wilson Etienne
4. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
5. Slide by Jill Hathaway
6. Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
7. The Selection by Kiera Cass
8. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
9. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
10. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
11. The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
12. Above by Leah Bobet

Of course, I'm sure these lists will change dramatically over the course of 2012! These are just the ones I think I might read during the year. 2012 should be a great year for reading! [And, hopefully, the world won't end. Because there are just too many books I'm waiting for that come out in 2013!!]




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Aneeqah's Not So Real Life- Books I Want to Recieve

Even though we don't celebrate a holiday this time of year, I always have a book wishlist!! =) Here's my list:

1. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
2. Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
3. Fateful by Claudia Gray
4. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
5. Sweet Venom by Terra Lynn Childs
6. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mai
7. Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
8. Legend by Marie Lu
9. Wildfire by Karsten Knight
10. Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Also, here are the top 10 books I'm anxiously awaiting for in 2012!

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
2. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
3. Endlessly by Kiersten White
4. Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
5. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
6. Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
7. The Enchantress by Michael Scott
8. Untitled (Red Pyramid #3) by Rick Riordan
9. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
10. Unwholly by Neal Shusterman

Happy holidays everybody! Make some time to snuggle in a blanket by the fire with a good book. :)




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Hallowed by Cynthia Hand Review

Review Done By: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life

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Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Genres: Angels, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

My Review: First off, I would like to thank the publishers of this book, HarperCollins, for giving me a free e-arc of this book. I appreciate it so much!

So, in this sequel to Hallowed, Clara is trying to piece together the fire, what was supposed to happen. She can't seem to figure out what she was supposed to do that faithful night. And all the while, things are changing. Clara is forced to learn things, whether she likes it or not. And not all of things are good.

Before anything, let's take a moment to admire the absolutely gorgeous cover! It's stunning! I'm going to seriously have to buy the book, if only for the cover! [If you couldn't guess, I love beautiful covers.] I totally judge books by their covers, and this book lived up to its cover!

I think it should be known that I stayed up until 3 AM reading this book. Yes, 3 AM. I'm not even exaggerating a bit. I finished the book at 2:56 AM, and then thought about it for another good 10 minutes, then finally fell asleep. I don't think the right word is addicting, but compelling. This book just made me want to read and read, to figure what was next, what was going to happen. There was a lot of suspense, lots of it, which is what really made the book compelling.

Another thing that made this book so amazing, so compelling, are the plot twists. There were just things that I half-suspected, things that I probably should have seen coming, and things that just plain surprised me, things I could have never expected happening, but they did. I don't think Ms. Hand over-did the twists, I think they were carefully placed to make you want to gobble up the book, which is in fact, exactly what I did.

But the main thing I must have loved about this book is that it grabbed your heart, made you want to cry. Characters in this book are facing lots of grief, and that grief is conveyed so so well, that at time, I felt like my heart was wrenched along with the character's, and I had tears in my eyes at multiple points and it was the middle of the night. So that's a pretty amazing thing, considering I never cry, especially when I'm reading in to the night. But I literally had tears in my eyes. The writing was just so phenomenal, I felt like I was with the characters, like I was a part of their life. It's a hard thing to do, but Ms. Cynthia Hand did an amazing job at it. I don't think I could have felt more connected to the story than I did.

I could honestly go on and on about the things that I loved about this book. But one important thing is that we did get to see more Christian in this book, and that's something I definitely liked. He was there in the last book, but I feel like he's a little more involved in the book this time around. We learn some pretty interesting stuff about him as well, and even though it wasn't utterly surprising, I think it was good information to know.

Also, we got answers in this book. It was about time. I hate it when authors stretch things out so long, where we get no answers for multiple books, but we got some pretty good answers in this book, about a multitude of things, things that I thought were minor at first, but really weren't. I really don't want to spoil it for anybody, so I'll just leave it that.

Why didn't I give this book a full 5 stars? Well, the main reason is our dear Clara herself. For basically the whole part of the book, except the end, she makes bad and plain stupid decisions, as well as a few other characters in the book. But it was mainly Clara. It just made me mad at her, even though I know I really shouldn't blame her. But, honestly, they were just so selfish and stupid and ignorant at times, I wanted to punch her. But she did really mature at the end, which is something I definitely liked, and that really made the book for me. Honestly though, having Clara be a pain throughout the whole book was just plain frustrating to me. She shouldn't have acted like she did.

Other than that, and a few minor problems that I had with the book, it was amazing. I was so afraid that this second book wouldn't live up to the first, especially with all the buzz and hype that the first book got, but I think this will please readers of the series, like me. =)

The book, thank goodness, didn't end with a total cliffhanger. I would say it ended similarly to Unearthly, in a place where you kind of wanted to know more, but you were okay with the book ending, unlike certain books I know *shoots scary look at particular books*. It's hard to explain, but I think the book ended well. But I still am dying to get my hands on the next one!

Overall, this book lives up to my expectations, and I think it may or may not live up to other people's expectations. Some may think it's alright, others might think it's amazing. I loved it in a different way than I loved Unearthly, and it was definitely different from the first book. This book deals with very real and true things, but Ms. Hand adds some things to it to make it, you know, fantasy. It's different from Unearthly, but in a totally good way. It's absolutely and utterly worth reading, and it's one of my favorites of the year!

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The Sunday Salon - The Ninja Chicas

Please welcome the Ninja Chicas!

Here they are talking about Books Students Like to Read.  Check out their linked pages for more information about them and the books they like to read. Review Policy here.

Aneeqah's Not So Real Life -  I think it depends on where you are. Where I am, kids seem to be interested mainly in realistic fiction. I think it helps them connect their experiences with something.

Keeping it Real With Lucy - I don't know what books are popular with kids my age - I see them reading fantasy, realistic, science fiction. It all depends on what students like. (And if they don't like to read... I hand them a book to start!)

 

Isabella and Anusha of Bellanush - Isabella says: I think action for guys because its almost always about fighting,blood and death. I think girls also like action but do enjoy a good romance book because everyone loves when the gorgeous guy comes and helps the girl and how they will always be together. But I think most girls like when it doesn't end well and they have to work it out.

Anusha Says:  Alot of action/fantasy books, because people have short attention spans [like me!]  and need to be intrigued

Alexa of Simon Cowell's Corner - I believe that books that kids my age really like to read are romance novels, (though I really don't enjoy them) All kids, mostly girls, at the pree-teen age like to imagine if they had a boyfriend like the wonderful, non-realistic ones they experience in novels.

The Sisters - We would both have to say fantasy, mystery, Sarah Dessen (for girls), adventure, fantasy romance (once again girls, I have never seen a boy even look at twilight), sports books (for boys) and last but not least adventure.







The Ninja Chicas are looking for books to review.  Check out their posts by clicking the links and find out the types of books they would be interested in reading/reviewing.  Check out The Brain Lair for our review policies.

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - Review

Review Done By: Aneeqah's Not So Real Life


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Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic

Review: This story is about a girl named Karou, who lives in a town called Prague, in the Czech Republic. She's a little unusual. She has blue hair, draws incredible well, plus other strange details, but the strangest thing being: she lives a double life. All of her life, she's been divided by her two lives, her normal one, and her not-so-normal one. And all of this time, she's always felt a little... off. But how could she not, working for a magical teeth-collecter?

I think I surprised myself in two ways while reading this book. Let's start with the good one. Even though there's lots of unfamiliar words and names in this book, I could remember them and keep them seperate without any problem. Usually, with lots of confusing names, I have to flip back in the book and try to figure out which person is which, what word means what, or I just keep reading and hope it makes sense to me. But I never found myself doing that in this book. Ms. Taylor made very distinct names and characters, and so it was very easy to keep up with everything.

The other thing I surprised myself with was that I easily guessed the whole mystery of the book. The whole question, the suspense, once I met the other important charcter, I guessed it with a snap. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be that obvious, because I'm absolutely terrible with figuring out the mystery. Seriously. Something could be so obvious, and I would totally miss it. But that wasn't the case in this book. Which very much surprised me.

One thing I also loved about this book is the description. I've read some very descriptive books before, and to be honest, I just skimmed through alot of those books. But the descriptions were so unique in this book, and it painted a picture of the whole scene to me. I think it defiantly added a whole lot to this book, and it made it better.

Also, I think Mrs. Taylor added lots of details in the magic aspect of the book. I don't want to give anything away, but I feel as everything is very well-thought out, and I don't even think I have any questions about how it all works, and trust me, I always have questions!

The things I didn't like about the book? The main problem for me would probably be that it dragged in places. I know the author had to set up the scene and everything, but for me, that took too long, and honestly, it got kinda boring in the beginning of the book. It took a while for me to actually begin to get really intrested, and even then, the book sometimes lost my intrest near the end. The middle was for sure the most intresting part for me, where there was some really good conflict and some action.

Another thing I strongly disliked was the fabulous cliffhanger. Honestly, I shouldn't have expected more from this book. I don't think I've read a book that came out this year that doesn't have a cliffhanger. It would have been nice if this book would have been different, but of course, it didn't. Cliffhangers are really starting to get on my nerves. But, hey, that's the price you pay for reading good books, right?

In the end, I think this book is great for more older readers. Younger kids won't really enjoy it, since it doesn't have much action in it. Honestly, I was expecting more action than what I got, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it was still a pretty good read. I'll be looking forward to the next one!


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24 Hour Read-a-thon: Another Update!

Hey all, Aneeqah here! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update, I just got home from my relative's house! Luckily, I had some good time to read there. Here are my updated stats:

Right now, I am currently reading All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin.

Number of Pages Read Since Last Update: 196

Number of Books Read Since Last Update: 1

Number of Minutes Read Since Last Update: 120 Minutes

Total Number of Pages Read: 555

Total Number of Books Read: 1

Total Number of Minutes: 330 Minutes

I'm starting to get sleepy... so wish me luck!

24 Hour Read-a-thon: Update!

Hello again everyone, it's me Aneeqah! It's already Hour 4 of the Read-a-thon, with Hour 5 quickly approaching! I've been having a great time, non-stop reading, but it's about time for me to actually get up and start my day! Here are my stats so far:

Currently Reading: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Number of Pages Read Since Last Update: 359

Number of Books Read Since Last Update: Partial one, I'm almost done!

Number of Minutes Read Since Last Update: 3 1/2 Hours, which would be... 210 minutes!

Total Number of Pages Read: 359

Total Number of Books Read: None

Total Number of Minutes: 210 Minutes

24 Hour Read-a-thon: My List of Books!

Hello everybody! This is Aneeqah here! This year, I'm participating in the Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon, for the first time ever! I won't be able to read much, since I'm going over to my relative's house. My goal is to read 6 hours, and 2-3 books. Here's what my stack looks like:

• Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick- This one will defiantly be my first book I read, I've been anxious to get to it!
• All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin- I met this author at the ATBF, and I recently finished her other book, so I want to try a new book from her!
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Leviathan- My friends have recommended this one to me, I've been meaning to get to it for a while!
• The Absolute Value of Mike by Katherine Erskine- I read another book by this author, [which almost made me cry!] so I also wanted to try this one.
• Cloaked by Alex Flinn- Like the others, I read another book by the author previously, and this one's been on my TBR for a really long time!
• Evernight by Claudia Gray-I've heard some really good things about this series, so I wanted to try it out. It sounds like a few really good books I've read previously, so I'm hoping it'll be as good as the others!
• Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia- I've also heard really good things about this book, and it sounds interesting.

That's my list! Like I said before, I'll be at my relative's house, but I'll be sure to bring a book along there, just in case I have time to read there! My start time for the read-a-thon is 7 AM, so I'll probably just get up the same time I do for school [so much for sleeping in]. I'll be posting here bright and early tomorrow morning!

The Sunday Salon - Austin Teen Book Festival

Hey guys! =)

So, as some of you know, I was at the Austin Teen Book Festival yesterday!! [ATBF, for short]

I got to meet a bunch of authors, get book signed, and had an awesome time!!

There were panels of authors that you could go and listen to. Out of 5, you got to choose 3. At the panel discussion, the authors were asked questions from one author, and they answered them, and then the audience got to ask questions! It was really nice hearing the authors talk about a lot of different things, and they were so nice and funny! =)

My favorite authors that I got to meet were: Jessica Brody, Scott Westerfeld, and Andrea Cremer. Gabrielle Zevin was pretty nice too!

I got these books signed: Nightshade, Wolfsbane, My Life Undecided, and Uglies!

I also learned some things about upcoming books from authors: Andrea Cremer is going to write 2 pre-quels about Nightshade after she's done with the last book of the trilogy. She's also going to write a new Steampunk series that's coming out in a few years!

Tera Lynn Childs said she is also writing another Forgive My Fins book, along with the trilogy of her Sweet Venom series!!

It was a blast [even though I had to wake up at 5:45 on a Saturday]!! Totally worth it! I'm only sorry you guys couldn't have come to make it more fun. =(

Aneeqah's Not So Real Life

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