Friday, December 13, 2013

Viral Nation

Title: Viral Nation
Author: Shaunta Grimes
Rating: 5/5
NETGALLEY REVIEW

Description: After a virus claimed nearly the entire global population, the world changed. The United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving citizens clustered to start over. The Company, which ended the plague by bringing a life-saving vaccine back from the future, controls everything. They ration the scant food and supplies through a lottery system, mandate daily doses of virus suppressant, and even monitor future timelines to stop crimes before they can be committed.   Brilliant but autistic, sixteen-year-old Clover Donovan has always dreamed of studying at the Waverly-Stead Academy. Her brother and caretaker, West, has done everything in his power to make her dream a reality. But Clover’s refusal to part with her beloved service dog denies her entry into the school. Instead, she is drafted into the Time Mariners, a team of Company operatives who travel through time to gather news about the future.   When one of Clover’s missions reveals that West’s life is in danger, the Donovans are shattered. To change West’s fate, they’ll have to take on the mysterious Company. But as its secrets are revealed, they realize that the Company’s rule may not be as benevolent as it seems. In saving her brother, Clover will face a more powerful force than she ever imagined… and will team up with a band of fellow misfits and outsiders to incite a revolution that will change their destinies forever.
My Review: Even with how long it took me to read this... the story was actually really good. I can't wait for the next book in this series. Interesting idea and concept and 'real' characters. Clover is so real with her problems and how they used them. This story is about an outbreak that kills off a lot of people but with a bit of time travel in it too. Awesome story!

The Trap

Title: The Trap
Author: Andrew Fukuda
Rating: 4/5

Description: The final installment in the terrifying dystopian vampire series.
My Review: The ending left me like daybreakers (movie) did. Empty. I was enjoying it till the end and then I was like WTF? I was loving the characters and then things left me feeling like a void... or numb- no emotion at all. :( I would have given it a 5 but that ending!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Bastion

Title: Bastion
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Rating: 5/5

Description: Mags returns to the Collegium, but there are mixed feelings--his included--about him actually remaining there. No one doubts that he is and should be a Herald, but he is afraid that his mere presence is going to incite more danger right in the heart of Valdemar. The heads of the Collegia are afraid that coming back to his known haunt is going to give him less protection than if he went into hiding. Everyone decides that going elsewhere is the solution for now. So since he is going elsewhere--why not return to the place he was found in the first place and look for clues? And those who are closest to him, and might provide secondary targets, are going along. With Herald Jadrek, Herald Kylan (the Weaponsmaster's chosen successor), and his friends Bear, Lena, and Amily, they head for the Bastion, the hidden spot in the hills that had once been the headquarters of a powerful band of raiders that had held him and his parents prisoner. But what they find is not what anyone expected.

My Review: This was by far the best book of this series, a lot of questions were answered about Mags past and parents. And also he got more to chew about in the end. I can't wait to see what happens with Mags and his friends next if there is another book... Forever a Mags Fan!

Bunches and Bunches of Manga

Title: Mamotte! Lollipop 1
Description: BOY CRAZY Junior high schooler Nina is ready to fall in love. She’s looking for a boy who’s cute and sweet–and strong enough to support her when the chips are down. But what happens when Nina’s dream comes true . . . twice? One day, two cute boys literally fall from the sky: they’re both wizards and they’ve come to the Human World to take the Magic Exam. The boys’ success on this test depends on protecting Nina from evil, so now Nina has a pair of cute magical boys chasing her everywhere she goes! One of these wizards just might be the boy of her dreams . . . but which one?
My Review: This is a very cute, fast moving manga which I grabbed to fill in space between reading novels :)

-----------------------------------------------

Title: Twilight v.2
Description: Check out what happens when you line up the covers of The Twilight: Graphic Novel Volume 1 with the newly released image of Volume 2. What do you think of the art by Young Kim picking up on Stephenie Meyer’s description? Do you like the idea of the meadow scene being on the cover?
My review: Yawn... I think I'm over this now.





-----------------------------------------------
Title: Full Moon wo Sagashite v.1
Description:  A bittersweet tale of puppy love, tragedy, and aspirations of pop-star fame. A spark of hope ignites to a blaze in twelve-year-old Mitsuki Koyama's life when a comical pair of magical beings appears to prove to her that dreams really do come true. Young Mitsuki loves singing and dreams of becoming a pop star. Unfortunately, a malignant tumor in her throat prevents her from pursuing her passion. However, her life turns around when two surprisingly fun-loving harbingers of death appear to grant Mitsuki a temporary reprieve from her illness and give her singing career a magical push start.
My Review: Hmmm it was exactly like the anime I watched years ago :))

-----------------------------------------------
Title: Bakuman v.1
Description: R to L (Japanese Style). Is becoming a successful manga artist an achievable dream or just one big gamble? Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world? Moritaka is hesitant to seriously consider Akito's proposal because he knows how difficult reaching the professional level can be. Still, encouragement from persistent Akito and motivation from his crush push Moritaka to test it
My Review: Liked it!

-----------------------------------------------
Title: Toradora! Vol. 1
Description: Guy likes one girl, tho that girl doesn't know it. But another girl does... but same goes with that girl. But tempers get in the way. Tehe.
My review: I liked it!








-----------------------------------------------

Title: Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, v.1-2
Description: Lizzie Newton, a young upper crust lady with a budding career as a mystery writer, is expected to know her place in Victorian society. Her father has arranged for her to marry the handsome Edwin White, who has put his rising career as a lawyer on hold to prove his love to Lizzie. While the headstrong Lizzie tolerates earnest Edwin, she is not yet ready to accept him as her fiance. Besides, Lizzie is distracted by something far more important: an apparent suicide has occurred in the manor, and Lizzie is ready to solve her first real life murder case!
My review: This was a fun read!


-----------------------------------------------

Title: Model v.1-2
Description: A lifetime of deceit and pain is exposed to Jae! The truth about Adrian is revealed...but what will it mean for Ken? And as for Michael, the years of loneliness and emptiness have taken their toll. Can he allow himself to hope for something more with Jae--or will this truly be the end of it all? The final volume of Model will reveal everything!
My review: Didn't like the story much. Or the artwork.





-----------------------------------------------

Title: My Boyfriend is a .... v.7-8
Volume 7 Description: Serena Stevens is already popular in her new school in the tiny Texas town of Rojo—so popular she has two guys interested in her. Self-assured Lance is a football star, and introverted Cam is an intellectual who gets nervous just working with her on their English project about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . In a town with a single-minded obsession with football, Lance is a great catch, but there's something unique about Cam. Between the two of them, Serena has the perfect boyfriend . . . if she can figure out how to keep them apart. Soon there's much more to worry about when two cheerleaders go missing. Serena starts to wonder: could one of the guys be responsible? Appearances might be deceiving . . . and who will Serena end up with when things come to a boil?
Volume 8 Description: Life isn't exactly paradise for aspiring comic book artist Morning Glory Conroy. Anxious about an upcoming comics festival and worried about her best friend Julia's deteriorating home life, Glory has enough to juggle without also being swept off her feet by the guy Julia likes. But Gabriel is the answer to every girl's prayers: sweet, full of wonder at the world, and divinely handsome. But does he count as a real boyfriend if his overbearing guardian forbids even kissing? Not to mention the added complication of his mischievous cousin Luci trailing Glory's every move just to cause trouble. Glory is in for a startling revelation when she discovers Gabriel's true identity—and learns that their romance has distracted him from an important mission. Will it take a miracle to sort out this mess, or can Glory move heaven and earth to help the people she loves?
My review: Both enjoyable.
-----------------------------------------------

Title: Maoh v.1-2
Description: R to L (Japanese Style). What do you do when the city's savior is actually a devil in disguise...? Ando is a high schooler who posses the ability to force others to vocalize his thoughts. As a child he was shunned and ridiculed for this ability, and so he quickly learned to suppress it. But now, despite all his effort to act normal and fit in, he's dragged into a situation that forces him to reawaken his gift. The catalyst is the actions of a group called “Grasshopper,” lead by a charismatic and mysterious young man, Inukai. Grasshopper portraysitself as a civic group, but the events Ando witnesses point at something far more disturbing. As the organization grows in strength and numbers, Ando begins a dangerous shadow game to check Inukai's plans.
My review: Interesting... wish my library had more of the story!
-----------------------------------------------

Title: Rin-ne  v.1
Description: Reads R to L (Japanese Style). As a child Sakura Mamiya mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind her grandma's home. She returned whole and healthy, but since then she has had the power to see ghosts. Now a teenager, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! At school, the desk next to Sakura's has been empty since the start of the school year, then one day her always-absent classmate Rinne Rokudo shows up, and he's far more than what he seems!After school one day, Rinne helps Sakura deal with the ghost of a boy who has a crush on her. Rinne it seems, knows just how to handle such ghosts, and has the skills and tools to properly dispatch them to the afterife (for a small fee of course). Sakura starts to learn more about her mysterious classmate, and her curiosity about Rinne draws her deeper into the amazing world between life and death.
My review: Another Inuyasha like characters... but its from the same artist :)
-----------------------------------------------

Title: Pretty Face v.1-2
Description: He wanted to be her boyfriend... He'll settle for being her twin sister! When his school bus crashes, teenage karate star Rando is sent into a coma. A year later he wakes up to find that his disfigured face has been reconstructed in the image of his secret crush, Rina! Not knowing what Rando originally looked like, the mad plastic surgeon Dr. Manabe used a photo in Rando's pocket as the model for his reconstructive surgery. Abandoned by his friends and parents, the all-new Rando is mistaken for his would-be girlfriend's long-lost twin sister and adopted into her family. Can he put aside his feelings and be a good "big sister" to Rina...when he's still a teenage boy from the waist down?
My review: This manga made me laugh out loud a lot :)






Beautiful Creatures (Manga)

Title: Beautiful Creatures (Manga)                                                                                
By: Kami Garcia (Author), Margaret Stohl (Author), Cassandra Jean (Artist)
Rating: 4/5
 
Description:           
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Review: art is different but now I want to read the novel :) Sometime next year I'll pick up the novel version and I'll have a review between the two!