Book Blogger Hop (12) & Follow Friday (12)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books every Friday-Monday. It's a great opportunity to network and visit other blogs and meet new bloggers.

This weeks question is:

"Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you most looking forward to?"

I'm not exactly sure when this book comes out, but I think it's sometime over the summer or after. 

Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry, #3) by Simone Elkeles

I loved the first one, liked the second, and can not wait to read this one too. 

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Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkiee's View. Basically, it is a meme to help you get blog followers. Check out her blog and the Featured Blogger of the week!

This weeks question:

"Keeping with the dystopian and apocalypse theme that seems to be running rampant on parajunkee.com, I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking you bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?"

1. Vampire Academy

2. Last Sacrifice

3. Princess Academy

4. City of Bones

5. City of Ashes

6. City of Glass

7. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

8. Perfect Chemistry

9. The Bad Beginning

10. Spirit Bound

This was an extremely hard question so I just picked books I wouldn't mind reading again. 

Crossed Off Challenge List: Last Sacrifice

Rating:  * * * * 1/2

This post is purely to announce that I have read and crossed off Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead from the following challenge lists:

2011 OTS

I will be making a post similar to this one for every book that I do not review if it is connected to one of the challenges that I am participating in. This is just so that I have a record of what I have read and what needs to be read in order to complete the challenge.

Review (11): The False Princess

The False Princess

by Eilis O’Neal

Series: None

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: January 25, 2011

Publisher: EgmontUSA

Pages: 336

Source: Library

Challenge: 2011 DAC

Book Website: None

Author Website: http://www.eilisoneal.com/

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Why I Read This: Mostly for the 2011 DAC.

Plot: This book has pretty much everything you would want to read about; romance, adventure, magic, fantasy, mystery, etc. There is a lot happening in the story-line, but it is not at all confusing and is really easy to follow along with. There were some parts that were easy to guess, but there were just as many that surprised me. I had a hard time putting this book down because of all the suspense. I needed to know what happened next! The magical aspect of the story seemed to be a bit detached at the beginning and just seemed to be an added detail that wasn't as important as everything else. However, once the story picked up, so did the magic. Sinda had a hard time with it at first and I admired the fact that she never gave up.

Characters: Sinda is the first false Princess and I thought she was a great main character. When she finds out that the first 16 years of her life were a lie and is sent to live with her only surviving relative who she has never met before, she tries to make the best of a pretty bad situation. She does not complain as most people would if they were in the same situation. Instead, she tries her hardest to be the best dyer she can be and to help her aunt with anything she needs. She is not very good at it, but at least she tries. All of this makes her strong and less selfconsious. Kiernan, Sinda's best and only friend, is pretty amazing too. He is extremely loyal, kind and a bit of a prankster who really helps Sinda get out of her comfort zone. He sticks by Sinda's side even after it is revealed that she is not the real princess and it is obvious that he is in love with her from the beginning. Then there is Orianne and Mika. They were both very nice, but my favorite of the two would have to be Mika and her sarcastic personality.

Cover: I tend to pick books based on their covers (which is a no-no, but I still do it anyways) and this one was no acception. I love the purple wallpaper background. I'm not quite sure which of the three girls it is on the cover, but I'm guessing it is Sinda wearing a locket with a picture of Nalia. It reminds me of the old Elle Enchanted cover.

Overall Impression:  For anyone that likes fantasy, magic, wizards, kings, queens and a whole bunch of other things, this is definitely the book for you. This is the first YA fantasy I've picked up in awhile because there aren't that many and I really liked it. I will definitely be looking for more and other books by Eilis O'Neal from now on.

Rating: * * * * 

Review (10): Babe in Boyland

Babe in Boyland

by Jody Gehrman

Series: None

Other Reviewed Titles: None

Release Date: February 17, 2011

Publisher: The Penguin Group

Pages: 292

Source: Library

Challenge: None

Book Website: None

Author Website: http://www.jodygehrman.com/

When high school junior Natalie--or Dr. Aphrodite, as she calls herself when writing the relationship column for her school paper--is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, she decides to investigate what guys really think and want. 

But the guys in her class won't give her straight or serious answers. The only solution? Disguising herself as a guy and spending a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boy boarding school in town. There she learns a lot about guys and girls in ways she never expected--especially when she falls for her dreamy roommate, Emilio. How can she show him she likes him without blowing her cover?

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Why I Read This: It looked like a fun, cute read.

Plot: This story reminded me a lot of She’s the Man with Amanda Bynes which is not a bad thing because I absolutely loved that movie and recently found out it was based on one of Shakespeare’s plays. The plot was a little predictable, but there were parts that were still unique to the story. I loved the theater components of and how they were incorporated perfectly into the story. What I had a hard time believing was how it was so easy for her to be enrolled into the school without any problems or people asking too many questions. That would not have happened in real life, but obviously the same rules don’t apply to books which is why they’re so amazing. 

Characters: Natalie was hilarious, witty and sarcastic. She was very relatable and I loved her. I also really liked her two best friends, Chloe and Darcy. They couldn’t have been more different from each other, but that seemed to make their friendship even more believable and realistic. Emilio was super adorable and I loved that he was shy around other people, but very comfortable when he was with Nat (aka Natalie). I really liked them all, especially the three friends Natalie makes at the all-boys school she attends for a week. 

Cover: The cover is super cute and is what first drew me to the book. The girl is gorgeous and has the biggest and prettiest eyes ever! 

Overall Impression: Hilarious! I found myself literally LOLing various times throughout the book. I had fun reading it which is what I was hoping for. I will definitely pick up other books by Jody Gehrman now that I know how great this one was. 

Rating: * * * * *

Book Blogger Hop (11) & Follow Friday (11)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books every Friday-Monday. It's a great opportunity to network and visit other blogs and meet new bloggers.

This weeks question is:

"Since today is April Fool's Day in the USA, what is the best prank you have ever played on someone OR that someone has played on you?"

Honestly, my friends and I aren't really all that into April Fool's Day and it is just another ordinary day for us. I can't think of any pranks that were played on me or that I've played on anyone else. This is a really boring answer, but it's the truth! If you have one, leave a comment about it. I love hearing other peoples stories!

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Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkiee's View. Basically, it is a meme to help you get blog followers. Check out her blog and the Featured Blogger of the week!

This weeks question:

"What is the book that you really don't want to admit to loving?"

Well...I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I used to be obsessed with the Twilight Saga when I was in middle school. I read them all probably in less than 2 weeks and was in love with them. When I first heard they were going to make a movie I was very excited, but started to get really annoyed at random people who would say "OMG! I love Twilight. Edward is soooooo dreamy!" and when asked how they liked the books, they didn't even know there were books. Then I actually watched the movie (which was horrible) and started to see that the story wasn't even that good. Now I can't stand anything Twilight and I didn't even bother watching the last 2 movies.