Skylark by Megan Spooner {Review}

I'm terrible with library due dates &
forgot a pic before I returned it :P

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Publish Date: August 1, 2012

Source: Library

Goodreads

Pages: 344

Series: Skylark #1

Rating: Direct Hit

Sixteen-year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.
Her world ends at the edge of the cast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that's left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence.
When it's Lark's turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend herself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it's been stripped.
Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city's clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She's heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret -- but can she stay live long enough to find them?

I've read a lot of just good and pretty meh books lately and let me tell you, Skylark was a breath of fresh air. This is the book I've been waiting for and silly me didn't pick it up until now.

Man, I just don't even know where to start because Skylark is just this explosion of awesomeness packed in between two covers. There's just enough action and suspense to keep me glued to the pages without being overwhelming. The little (and big) mysteries of the world and the story are subtly weaved in so it doesn't feel like the reader is constantly being bombarded with THIS IS A MYSTERY AND IT'S A MYSTERY SO I WON'T TELL YOU WHAT IT IS YET.

And oh my gosh, the twists. Yeah, I didn't see any of them coming. Well, there might be one, but I don't really think Spooner was hiding it from the reader, only Lark. It was so nice to actually not know what was going to happen which has been the case with most of my reads lately.

I'm not going to lie, it was kind of a lot to take in at first, but I got into the groove of the world after a bit and loved it. It's absolutely nothing like anything I've read before. I love the idea of magic being some kind of natural resource. And, as with any limited supply of anything, the government has complete control over it. So the magic isn't for personal use, instead, the city uses it to power itself. And we're talking everything from their artificial sun to little “pixies” which fly on their own and serve kind of as a police alarm (can that be a thing). I don't really want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that I found the pockets of magic fascinating (read it and you'll know what I mean ;])

And boy, does Spooner have a way with characters. I fell in love with all of them. Well, besides a certain guy (no, I didn't even like him from the moment he was introduced) and the rest of the evil city people.

Lark was stubborn and scared and realistic. She had some serious trust issues so I wanted to shake her and be like “just trust them!” but I can't exactly fault her for it. I wouldn't trust anything or anyone after what she'd been through either.

Ohmygosh, Nix. I liked it (always thought of it as a her for some reason) from the moment it entered the story. I can't really say much about it since 1) it's kind of confusing and 2) it's a little spoilery.

Oh, Oren. Despite all the reasons he wasn't to be trusted I just kept thinking “Lark and Oren 4evah.” He's such a complex and wonderful character. Talk about a tortured soul (not in the usual way, though. Ponder that one!)

The Nutshell: Basically, I could go on and on about Skylark so you should just trust me on this one and go read it. I mean it has magic, complex characters, twists you'll never see coming (unless you're the master of figuring things out), and a world that you've probably never seen the likes of before.

Chuck Taylor joins the family!

Remember how last month I said I'd be getting a cat? Well, if you follow me on Twitter then you've probably seen pictures and know that happened about two weeks ago. I wanted to post about it sooner, I really did, but I also wanted to make a video to show you guys, and, well, it really wasn't working. I'm the type of person who has to get one thing done before moving on so this video has been a road bock in front of my blog and other various real life things.

 So today I decided screw it, I'm posting the crappy video anyway. And when I say crappy, I really, really mean it. There's parts where it just pauses for 30 seconds or more and other parts where the music inexplicably stops working while the video goes on its merry way. So, yeah, it's pretty bad. BUT, I shan't let it stand in my way any longer, so here it is:

On February 7th Jacob (my husband for those confused) and I were down visiting family and on a quest to get a cat. We visited a local no-kill animal shelter and were overwhelmed by all the cute kitties. There was one that kept trying to attack my face, but in a cute way. But there was one little guy who nuzzled my hand and licked my fingers every time I stuck my hand by the cage and it was love. So, Chuck Taylor came home with us (the name is a thing between Jacob and I from way back when we first started dating.) 

While he's still the loving cat I saw at the shelter, he definitely has a crazy side he was hiding. He likes to lick people and things. A lot. Basically, if it's within reach he'll lick it. So sometimes that means he's trying to scrape off all the skin from my arm or under my chin. Pugsy doesn't escape the licking either. In fact, Chuck is rather fond of grooming her. He also seems to think her tail is a fun toy...

He also does this thing where he's all "look at me, I'm so cute and you want to pet me" and as soon as your arm is close enough he grabs on with all four paws and commences biting or possibly licking, if he's feeling kind.

And pictures! (At least there's nothing wrong with these :P)

From top left to right:

1) He kept sitting in my mother-in-law's chair. She hates cats.

2) Sleeping folded in half.

3) He decided he really liked my Disney Hyperion bag.

4) Completely stretched out and sleeping. I wear he takes up more room than Pugsy sometimes!

5) Hugging Pugsy. This was his first night at home and she was certainly not impressed and did not share the hug love.

6) This is how I woke up after his first night in bed: Pugsy peeking out at my side and Chuck lounging in my legs.

7) His very first picture :]

Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbrook {Review}

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publish Date: January 29, 2013

Source: Publisher for honest review

Goodreads

Pages: 272

Series: No

Rating: Hit

They're young. They're in love. They're on the run.
Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger...
When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can't run fast enough.

I really wish I hadn't seen any reviews for Nobody But Us before reading because I feel like they were all just sitting in the back of my mind poking at the story while I was reading. Still, I did end up enjoying it.

I did not, in fact, really like either Will or Zoe, but I could appreciate their characters. They were supposed to make bad choices and be caught up in each other. I was so torn while reading because on the one hand, I know what new love feels like and that Zoe and Will's was multiplied by their terrible home lives taking it to an even more obsessive level, but on the other hand, I just wanted to take them both aside and slap some sense into them. It wasn't even just the spiral of terrible choices; I wanted them to see the poisons in their relationship as well.

The setting was perfect. I couldn't imagine a better way for this downward spiral of a relationship to play out. Usually when you think 'road trip' happy, carefree thoughts come to mind. That's definitely not what Nobody But Us was about, yet I still loved it. I think the excitement of being on the run really adds something important.

The Nutshell: Nobody But Us isn't my usual read because I usually stick to the fluffy stuff, but I'm glad I gave it a chance since I ended up really enjoying it. If you're looking for a quick read about two teens running away from everything while clinging to each other then you should read Nobody But Us.

Cover Lover {68}

Of course we all know you should never judge a book by its cover, but do we ever really listen to that?
Cover Lover showcases eye catching, intriguing, and beautiful covers. 

This week's Cover Lover goes to The Key & the Flame by Claire M. Caterer

Publish Date: April 2nd, 2013

I just have a thing for MG covers. I love that even when they're dark (not that this one is) they don't make you feel all depressed like some covers do (I'm looking at you, Sad Girls in Dresses.) I love the frame with it's pretty little leaf-like frills. Generally, frames look really neat. I also really like the contrast in colors and how the way they work together still makes it a little understated. The shades of green are just enough to balance out the dark tree and the whites.

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum {Review}

This is my new cat, Chuck Taylor.
He thinks the book is tasty.

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publish Date: January 8, 2013

Source: Publisher for honest review

Goodreads

Pages: 272

Series: ?

Rating: Near Miss

Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.
Only a few escaped the robot revolution of 2071. Kevin, Nick, and Cass are lucky -- they live with their parents in a secret community in the woods. Then their village is detected and wiped out. Hopeful that other survivors have been captured by bots, the teens risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world -- by infiltrating a city controlled by their greatest enemies.

Revolution 19 was pretty middle of the road for me. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were definitely a few things that kept me from loving it.

Let's start with the good.

Creepy robots.

The idea of machines taking over the world has never really been one that held any particular interest for me, but there's certainly something about creepy about human-like robots. Most of the robots didn't do much for me. I mean, floating sphere robots are cool, but they don't particularly scare me. There were a few, however, that made me want to keep reading. If it weren't for the epilogue and the creepy I-want-to-understand-taste-so-I'll-chew-up-this-steak-and-spit-it-out robot I probably wouldn't have any intention of reading the sequel.

Post-apocalyptic world.

I always love learning about how the world works and Revolution 19 certainly isn't short on interesting details.

Length.

Revolution 19 is somewhere around 260 pages, so it's a quick read. A lot of stuff happens and it even manages to not feel rushed most of the time.

Things I didn't like:

Characters.

I always feel a little heartless for criticizing characters thrust into crazy/new/scary situations, but I had some serious issues with Cass and Nick. They've both mastered the art of jumping to conclusions. “Guys, a bot just turned the corner five blocks away! We've been caught! They're gonna burn us alive! Make a break for it!” That's not a direct quote, if you're wondering, but it sure felt like that. About every other page they thought they were going to get caught and killed and I just wanted to slap them. I mean, I get being scared, but seriously, we have to draw the line somewhere.

And then there's just Nick. “I must sacrifice myself for the good of the cause!” Okay, buddy. Wanting to take care of your brother and sister and rescue your parents is admirable. Being an idiot about it, however, is not. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really see how throwing yourself in front of every robot that passes is helpful.

Pacing.

Yes, I did say that it was generally good, but not completely. When they're traveling in the woods it pretty much goes “they traveled for the day” and then “two days later” and I couldn't help thinking a little info on those lost days would have been nice.

The twist I saw coming a mile away.

Seriously, I suspected from the moment it occurred which just happened to be in the first chapter. The twist itself isn't bad, just the fact that it wasn't a surprise to me AT ALL.

The Nutshell: I didn't hate Revolution 19, but it did leave much to be desired. I'm hoping for character growth, a twistier plotline, and more creepy robots in book two.

Edit: I don't actually see any info on a book two from Goodreads, so can anyone confirm this for me?