Review: The Golden Lily

♔ Details

Title: The Golden Lily - Bloodlines #2
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Release date: 12th June 2012

♔ Summary

The second thrilling installment in Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy spinoff series.

Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students--children of the wealthy and powerful--carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

♔ Review

I was so excited when it came in the mail... I actually had to wait until exams were over to read which proved to be a difficult thing, but luckily I succeeded. Needless to say, once I took my last one, I picked it up immediately and began to read. Oh, Richelle Mead. I know I could write this review almost as a love letter to her for writing such a good book. ALL her books have just something in them... that makes them incredibly enjoyable and memorable. I'd missed reading her books with the wait from the first one of the Bloodlines series. 

Now, onto the book itself, I liked it because (as the other books of hers) it doesn't have "major evil" or something like that, but simply an eventual thread that can end very wrong if not threaded carefully. And although it did have that in-between feeling for me, it didn't bother me at all. It felt completely in place, helping resolve things at a more local setting (I know, I know, talking cryptically so as to not spoil readers).

Then, there's Sydney. When the first book came out, and even before, I was afraid Sydney's character wouldn't click with me as much as Rose did in the Vampire Academy series. While reading the first book I it was still something really new and couldn't judge. But now, now I can see I don't have anything to fear (we're talking about Richelle Mead after all). Because Rose and Sydney are completely different. They're both fighters, heroines, and on of their strongest points are loyalty and courage. But where Rose is physical strength, Sydney is cleverness and intelligence. And I utterly loved both. Here Sydney is not as much socially awkward as she was in the first book, but her social experiences never cease to be fun to read about.

What this book had was intrigue. We get to know the truth about a close friend of theirs. But I believe nothing is over for our group of friends! I still think there are a couple of shady characters out there that are not to trust (yeah, my detective side really showed while reading The Golden Lily!). ...And then there's Adrian. Oh, Adrian. I knew he was something special when I first read about him in the other series. He's, in my opinion, the biggest highlight of the book and overall and irreplaceable character. Like, seriously.

For those who are reading the series there's nothing else I can say to convince you to keep reading (I'm sure you're already hooked), and for those who aren't, DO IT.

♔ Rating

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Monday evening news

♔ Of course this week there's not an insane amount of new weeks like last week, but they're still a lot! I'm super excited for The Golden Lily. This time I'm also puzzled about the characters that appear on the cover, but that's nothing new. I kind of expected Requiem to be more striking, and Through the Ever Night is my favorite of this batch!

    

   

    

    

♔ There will be another book about Meghan and Ash from The Iron Fey series! YAY! It will be a novella and will be set in the time after The Iron Knight. Sadly it will be the last one about them, but I'm happy anyways since I thought we'd never hear about them again.

Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts’ gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan’s past returns with a dire prophecy: “What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.” Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey—and her and Ash’s unborn child… 

A novella from the bestselling Iron Fey series

♔ I'm not... particularly a fan of this book trailer from the book The Forsaken. Maybe the fact that the book looks totally creepy doesn't help.

♔ About movies! I've read that The Soul Seekers series by Alyson Noël has been optioned. I haven't read them yet, but it's great that there are going to be more movies based on YA books! There's also talk about Legend by Marie Lu being well on its way to become one.

July releases

New releases this month! Is it just me or there are fewer releases this month? They're still awesome releases nonetheless, of course. The ones I'm most looking forward to are Tiger Lily, Seraphina, Such a Rush and Pushing the Limits. And then there are other books that are succeeding in catching my attention, like The Syndicate and Something Strange and Deadly, but I think I'll wait until I read reviews about them. 

July 2nd - 8th

♔ Dark Companion by Marta Acosta
♔ Once (Eve #2) by Anna Carey
♔ Team Human by Justine Larbalestier
♔ The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando
♔ Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

July 9th - 15th

♔ Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

♔ Seraphina (Seraphina #1) by Rachel Hartman

♔ Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

♔ The Syndicate by Shelena Shorts

♔ The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

July 16th - 22nd

♔ The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

July 23rd - 29th

♔ Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

♔ Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3) by Kiersten White

♔ Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard

July 30th - 31st

♔ Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

♔ The Goddess Legacy (Goddess Test #2.5) by Aimee Carter

Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

♔ Details

Title: Of Poseidon - Of Poseidon #1
Author: Anna Banks
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release date: 22nd May 2012
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♔ Summary

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.

♔ Review

I was all kinds of excited to get to read Of Poseidon, and now, having read it, I can say that it didn't disappoint.

I loved Emma from moment one. She was snarky, she had a humor that won me over ever since I first read about her. And not only Emma. Anna Banks has done a great job in keeping the story light and hilarious at times. 

Usually, I don't mind whether a book has alternating POVs or not, as long as the story is well narrated. In this case, I highly enjoyed Galen's (third person) POV since we get a little glimpse of what he's really thinking, and what's going on that Emma doesn't know about. Ah, and their love story is so sweet! It was that perfect combination of sweetness, misunderstandings and attraction. Incredibly perfect. Beginning aside, I really liked all the side characters. There are not many of them, but I had a great time reading about Rayna, Toraf... Their characters are exquisitely unique and a world on their own. Remembering them makes me want to read it all over again.

The plot, while not immensely complex, kept me guessing at all times. And what's more, I kept guessing wrong! I have a spot of books that don't go the way I first thought. We also get a glimpse of what the Syrena (not mermaid!) world is like in Of Poseidon, but for me it wasn't enough. Left me wanting for more! All in all, this book is one of those enchanting, magic reads that you absolutely cannot miss.

♔ Rating

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Monday evening news

♔ New covers! Oh my gosh this is such a long post and I'm sorry but I've missed so many weeks of gorgeous new covers and I couldn't stand not having them here. Seriously though, I don't know if I can handle so much prettiness. I'm surprised that a lot of them are continuation of series instead of the usual new books. Oh, how my heart broke when I heard there would be a new cover for Shatter Me. I LOVED the old one, and I usually grow attached to first versions... The rest are still gorgeous, of course -creepy eye aside-. My favorite one is, without a doubt, the one of Let the Sky Fall. 

    

    

    

    

    

    

♔ The actress for the role of The Mortal Instrument's Isabelle Lightwood has been casted! Her name is Jemima West. Yay, more new actors announced! I'm actually excited for this movie and I'm eager to get to know the rest of the characters. It's interesting and I can't help but compare them to how I see them in my mind.

♔ Teaser images of Obsidian's book trailer! Quite an intense scene... I've read somewhere that it's the "laptop scene". I haven't read the book, so I don't really know! It has me a little bit puzzled that they're releasing the book trailer now, but oh well, I'll be looking forward to it :)

♔ The title of the third book of the Bloodlines series has been revealed! It'll be The Indigo Spell (I like how it sounds!). And there's even the first paragraph as a teaser! I don't know how, but with just that I'm dying to read the book. And just today I started The Golden Lily.

This wasn’t the first time I’d been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I’d been subjected to such a personal line of questioning.

“Are you a virgin?”

♔ Book trailers! Very late, I know ;; But there's the Tiger Lily one! I honestly can't wait for the book to come out, I think it'll be one of those books that will blow me away. Expecting some major awesomeness! :)

Showcase Sunday 4

Showcase Sunday is a weekly feature inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie and hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, used to showcase the books we bought, borrowed, got for review...

 

Won

♔ The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

♔ The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Bought

♔ The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

♔ Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

This is my mailbox for the past two weeks. My dear twin sister won an art contest hosted by Bree Despain, and these are the books that she got! (Plus a $30 giftcard... still thinking which books to buy!) And then there's The Golden Lily which I still haven't read, just because if I start I won't stop until I'm done and I still have to study. And last but not least, Something Like Normal which I'm expecting to be an amazing read.

Sorry I haven't been replying or commenting much, finals are too much at the moment ;; But tomorrow is my last one, and I'll be free. An entire month of finals. I think I won't know what to do with myself after (lies! of course I'll be reading ;) ). I hope you have a nice week and enjoy the start of the summer <3

Waiting on Wednesday (20)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Breaking the Spine and it's used to showcase the upcoming releases we're excited about.

This book is by all means the definition of pure awesomeness. I can't wait for it to get out so I can see it for myself! :)

Auracle by Gina Rosati

16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe. 

When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.