Discussion: How do you read?

So I am so excited to be doing my first discussion post. I finally found a topic that I am really curious about , how do you read? what I mean by this is do you read one book at time, physical books, kindle books, audio books. I am probably like many of us bloggers and book lovers, my TBR pile is huge and I have so many books  I am dying to read.

If you follow me on Goodreads then you will probably see  that at anytime I am reading between 3-4 books. It might sounds a little bit crazy to some  people to try and read that many at a time but,  I read certain books at certain places. I have a kindle which I absolutely am in love with but, it is my second kindle that I have owned because  the first one I had I took everywhere with me and I accidently dropped it and my screen broke. My boyfriend wasn't too happy but, I immediately ordered a new one and promised that I would leave my kindle at home and not take it to work anymore. I also live in Colorado and it gets freezing cold here and in case you didn't know  kindles hate the cold so leaving it in the car overnight or while I am working bad idea!

To keep myself on some sort of reading schedule  (which usually doesn't happen because if I read a great review of a book on my list it definitely gets moved up or read right away) The one thing that my boyfriend doesn't get and we have had to make a compromise on its books. He doesn't understand why I would need physical books if I have a kindle, so I  made a deal with him. I would only buy books I love that I want to have for my collection or a book in a series that I am in the middle of. I have been buying more and more physical books shame on me I know but,  once I read an author that I love I have to add their books to my collection and nothing can replace having some of the beautiful covers  that I have to add to my bookshelf. 

The reason I am usually reading 3 or 4 books at time it is because once I began winning books and buying physical books my shelves were growing but,  I hadn't read any of them,  I had too many e-arcs and kindle books to get to them. My boyfriend finally put his foot down, no more new physical books until I have read all of the one's I have. I am so happy to say that I have almost read through my shelf,  which means that I can get new books! So, the makeup of books I am usually reading at any given time is 2 e-arcs from my kindle, a physical book from my shelf, a kindle book that is not an e-arc a book just for me, and sometimes an audio book in the car while I am driving. I make myself read kindle books that  I have that are already released that I am just excited to read  because  I was beginning to feel burned out and I needed to start reading books just for me and it has made me so happy!

So, that is how I read, I am super curious about you guys. How do you read? One book at time, eBook, physical books, audio books? Let me know in the comments!

Review: The Body Finder (The Body Finder #1) By: Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder (The Body Finder #1)

Author: Kimberly Derting

Published: March 16th, 2010

My Rating: 4 out  5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

My Thoughts:

The Body Finder was such a great read, it was the perfect book for someone like me. It was a mix of mystery, romance, and paranormal. The romance was believable and perfect. The mystery had me engaged and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Everything that I could have asked for in a book was in this one. 

Violet   Ambrose is not your average teenage girl, she has a ability to find dead things,  animals and humans alike and she has been doing it all her life. She can feel the echo of a dead body that has been left behind and she can't rest until it has been properly buried. Until a serial killer is one the lose and begins killing girls around her town, Violet's gift has always been a secret and she has never used it for  anything like that but, how can she have an ability like this and not use it. Violet has been best friends with Jay Heaton for all of her life but, over the summer Jay has definitely grown up and she can't remember when she started feeling different towards him, her and pretty much every girl in her school has been swooning over Jay and Violet is so confused about what she is going to do with her  feelings for her best friend. 

I absolutely loved Violet, she was just a great YA character, I really related to her and remembered feeling just like she did when I was a teenager. My other favorite aspect to this book was Jay and  Violet and their relationship, it was genuine and real, watching them sort through all of the changes that their relationship was going through. It made the romance feel real instead of insta-love which always makes me happy. The mystery aspect had me drooling over this book because I have to admit that I am addicted to crime shows, the reality ones and the Law and Orders, and CSI's. It was creepy and suspenseful but, not too scary because I can't handle too creepy. 

Overall,  this was an awesome start to a great series, the ending was perfect because it wrapped up everything but definitely gave you the ideas of where it will be going and I can't wait to start the next book!

Want some more thoughts about The Body Finder? Check out the links below!

Steph The Bookworm  

JennReneeRead 

Dark-Readers

The Undesirable (The Undesirable #1) By: S. Celi

Title: The Undesirable (The Undesirable #1)

Author: S. Celi

Published: January 28th, 2013

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

*This book is Mature YA/ New Adult. It is recommended for readers 14 and over.

What if everything you knew turned out to be a lie?

Charlotte Walker knows how to live under the rule of The Party. She has managed for 18 years. She helps out her drunken mother and keeps life going at a familiar, steady pace. She doesn’t ask questions, even though she has many of them in her heart.

Fostino Sanchez knows how to live under the rule of The Party, too. For 19 years, he’s worked to be the perfect Party member. He knows what must be done to keep Maxwell Cooper in power, and how find the The Undesirables that threaten to take away everything that matters.

As the months go by, what matters most to Fostino is Charlotte Walker.

While their love blooms, danger comes to Charlotte and Fostino’s small hometown of Harrison Corners, OH. Threats they never knew existed could take away all that they care about. And just when these two teens think they know what will come next, Charlotte learns the truth about a secret she has long suspected.

What Charlotte finds out changes everything.

EVERYTHING.

THE UNDESIRABLE is Charlotte Walker’s story, from her point of view. It is a thrilling, suspenseful tale of love, curiosity, adversity, and maturity against the backdrop of a futuristic war.

Should Charlotte trust Fostino with what she knows? Can she trust anyone? Will she find it in herself to rise up against terrible odds? What if the ultimate Undesirable is her?

My Thoughts:

If it isn't obvious already per my reviews I am a huge dystopian fan. I  was first really intrigued by the cover of this one and  also the title. I really enjoyed this book, it was a fast and engaging read and time flew by while I was enjoying this book.

Charlotte lives in Harrison Corners, OH with her alcoholic mom  in the U.S. that is very different from the one  we know now. The U.S. is at war with Canada over oil and the government is controlled by The Party.  Everything changes when the Party comes to Charlotte's town. Her town is now going to be a part of the war effort, and every person who qualifies is going to be working in a factory every day making shirts. They are forced to give up all of their electronic possessions although none of them work anymore. Charlotte has had a crush on Fostino Sanchez for years, although she has never talked to him and only gazed at him from a far while passing him in the hallways at school. 

Charlotte was a great main character, she was strong on the outside but, on the inside she was freaking out just like every other person. The book moved fast and there was plenty of action but, one of the things that disappointed me was that at the end of the book  it never felt like enough happened in the plot for me. But, I still really enjoyed the dystopian world, learning about how the government worked and I am definitely wanting the next book to find out even more about the world that Celi created it was definitely a memorable one for a huge dystopian fan like me. I enjoyed reading about Fostino and Charlottes budding relationship that was a little bit rushed but, still  believable. 

Overall, this book was a quick and fast paced dystopian, it was a great beginning that had me dying to read the next book and find out what is going to happen next to Charlotte and Fostino, definitely check it out if you are a dystopian fan. 

Want to learn more about The Undesirable? Check out the links below!

Mariel O. Blogs  

Bookish Treasures 

Turner's Antics

Review: Sever (Chemical Garden #3) By: Lauren Destefano

Title: Sever (Chemical Garden #3)

Author: Lauren Destefano

Published: February 12th, 2013

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

Time is running out for Rhine in this conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

My Thoughts:

When I got ready to read this book I really had no idea what to expect, I had no idea how Lauren was going to end it and I loved not knowing what was going to happen and honestly this book was filled with  so much! I almost was a little bit disappointed because so much happened in this book that I wish happened in the second book so that we could learn more about all of the  events then we got to in  this book.  It almost didn't feel like it should be the last book although, it did wrap up the series so much happened in this book even more then in the last two in my opinion.

I don't even want to try to summarize what happened in this book because I don't want to spoil anything, I was so surprised at how this one went. We got to see so much of Cecily and Linden in this book and I really enjoyed it. Cecily's character was definitely the one that grew the most. Considering back to her character in the first book is so young and has so much hope filled inside of her that Vaughn will find a cure and save them all, she has grown into a young woman and the only wife left of Linden she has had a lot to carry on her shoulders. She was so much stronger in this book and I found myself being proud of the person she had became and really coming to like her character even more.

We finally get to meet Rhine's brother, I don't know what I was expecting from him considering  we have heard so much about him in the last two books but, I was disappointed in finally getting to meet him. Although there was a huge twist I totally didn't see coming he wasn't anything special. 

Overall, Sever was  definitely an exciting ending to a great trilogy, never lacking in surprises and twists, I am so excited to read her new series with the first book, Perfect Ruin coming out in October 2013 and part of a series called Internment Chronicles, which takes place on a floating island in the clouds, sounds super awesome!    

Want some more thoughts about Sever? Check out the links below!
  
Book Twirps  
Bookaholics 
Midnight Bloom Reads

What's Next (43)

I am so excited to be participating in a new meme every Thursday hosted  by Iceybooks, this meme is designed to help us bloggers get some help from our reader's on what to read next, so every week I will post 3 books that I am trying to decide between and you guys can vote on which one you think that I should read next. Cast your vote through the poll at the bottom of this post.

Happy Reading!
Kristin

Nightschool (Night School #1) By: C.J. Daugherty
Goodreads Summary:

 In this exciting debut psychological suspense thriller, new student Allie must figure out what is happening during mysterious night meetings at her glamorous private boarding school. Author C. J. Daugherty creates a world of stirring mystery, danger, romance, and thrills.

Transparent By: Natalie Whipple
Goodreads Summary:

 Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

Arclight By: Josin L. McQuien
Goodreads Summary:

 No one crosses the wall of light . . . except for one girl who doesn’t remember who she is, where she came from, or how she survived. A harrowing, powerful debut thriller about finding yourself and protecting your future—no matter how short and uncertain it may be.

The Arclight is the last defense. The Fade can’t get in. Outside the Arclight’s border of high-powered beams is the Dark. And between the Light and the Dark is the Grey, a narrow, barren no-man’s-land. That’s where the rescue team finds Marina, a lone teenage girl with no memory of the horrors she faced or the family she lost. Marina is the only person who has ever survived an encounter with the Fade. She’s the first hope humanity has had in generations, but she could also be the catalyst for their final destruction. Because the Fade will stop at nothing to get her back. Marina knows it. Tobin, who’s determined to take his revenge on the Fade, knows it. Anne-Marie, who just wishes it were all over, knows it.

When one of the Fade infiltrates the Arclight and Marina recognizes it, she will begin to unlock secrets she didn’t even know she had. Who will Marina become? Who can she never be again?