Wondering Where I’ve Been? Here’s a Short Explanation

 

 

Hello Everyone,

I’ve really missed you all. J School has been insane as some of you may know I went back to school last August (2012). Midterms have recently taken over my life! Seriously I don’t sleep I don’t eat and forget sleeping and eating I HAVENT EVEN HAD TIME TO READ FOR GOODNESS SAKES!

But, my dear friends I finally have some good news.

1.      Midterms are over and Spring Break has started

2.      I can read and get back to blogging about the books I love

Thank you all for sticking with me and for those that sent me emails I really appreciated. Now to read some books and oh yeah buy some books after Midterms must treat myself, right?

 

-Whitney Chakara

Shadow and Bone By Leigh Bardugo

Release Date: June 5th 2012
Author Info: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henery Holt and Co.
Age: 14+
Recommendation: Buy
Source: Library

Teaser: I twisted and Kicked as the yellow-bearded man grabbed hold of my legs. I looked desperately down to the glen, but the soldiers and Grisha below me were fighting for their lives, clearly outnumbered and unable to come to my aid. I struggled and thrashed, but the Fjerdan was too strong. He climbed on top of me, using his knees to pin my arms to my sides, and reached for his knife. "I'll gut you right here, witch," he snarled in a heavy Fjerdan accent.

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

It’s taken me a while to write this review because it was hard to put into words how much I adored this book. It’s hard for me to put into words the things that MADE me adore this book but I must try. Let’s start off with the world of Shadow and Bone, This world is not too far from our own past, it’s based on an alternate history of a country a lot like Russia. That right there was unique in its own. Although I love reading fantasy books based in London I felt relieved that this wasn’t one of them. As a lover and student of History it also gave me a lot of joy to feel that I was learning about a new culture.

As far as the romance goes you will not find any insta-love in this book. Mal and Alina have known each other their whole lives; they’ve had so much time for their love to grow and to really know each other. I also loved that his was what it claimed to be its FANTASY, FANTASY not ROMANCE disguised as Fantasy. Finally the villain. I have a hard time convincing myself that the villain of this book is actually the villain and I LOVE that.  I felt for him, I understood him and he was believable because he did not see himself as the bad guy but as the savior of a entire race and country.

If you have not read Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo  I recommend that you go out and Buy this book as soon as possible. The Sequel Siege and Storm will be coming out in June and I can not wait!

"Waiting on" Wednesday: Steelheart

Welcome back to The Paranormal Princess! Today is Wednesday and I will be Praticipating for the first time on this blog. First, a little history about W.O.W. "Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine .

So What am I currently Waiting On?

 

 

Steelheart

By Brandon Sanderson

Expected Publication : September, 24 2013

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge. (goodreads.com)

 

 

ITS BRANDON SANDERSON!AND DOES'NT IT JUST GIVE YOU THIS AWESOME X-MEN FEELING? <3



Onyx By Jennifer L Armentrout (Lux #2)

Release Date: August 14th 2012
Author Info: Jennifer L Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Age: 16 +
Recommendation: Borrow
Source: Purchased

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies… (goodreads.com)

I honestly don’t have much to say about the second book in the Lux series by Jennifer L Armentrout. This book was very confusing coming from the first book that was really fun. Although I enjoyed Onyx I feel that it was a step down from Obsidian as far as my personal enjoyment. It was like one of those books that are just to build a bridge to the next and nothing really happens. At the end we were thrown into something that kind of came out of no where. It seems like the book jumped from point A to C and skipped right over B. I would recommend this book to those that loved the first and just can’t get enough of Daemon.  If you were a bit on edge with the characters and world of Obsidian this may be a book you’d like to borrow or wait on.  Either way, I’m hooked and will be reading the third book in the series to see how Armentrout will fill in the blanks created in Onyx.

Obsidian By Jenneifer L Armentrout

 

Release Date: November 23rd 2011
Author Info: Jennifer L Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Age: 16+
Recomendation: Buy
Source: Purchased

Teaser: “Will you show me what you look like, you don’t sparkle do you and please tell me I didn’t almost kiss a giant brain eating insect because seriously I’m gonna…”

 Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.And then he opened his mouth.Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don't kill him first, that is.

 

I love when I get to branch out in the YA genre a little bit and read something out of the normal. This novel by Jennifer L Armentrout is something fresh in a land where we go to a bookstore and repeatedly see the same cover and read the same synopsis this is a bit fresh. The Main characters are Katy and Daemon. Katy is your average girl book blogger and while Daemon is your average jack-ass Alien, well maybe that’s not so average.

I loved the easy narration of the book told from Katy’s POV. The words flowed, the plot flowed and before I knew it I was done reading. Katy is relatable not just because she loved books and blogs about them but because she is just like us, she gets confused, she’s just finding out who she is, she loves and wants to be loved. Daemon oh Daemon where do I start with him, First he is Gorge! Second he adds a bit of seriousness to the book at times and then at times he brings the book some humor. To me Daemon is the star of the show. He made this book come alive.

I recommend this book to lovers of a good Science Fiction that includes Aliens and the unknown. If you are a lover of Paranormal Romance and looking for a Page Turner this is it.

 

Storm By Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: April 24th 2012
Author Info: Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: Kingston
Age: 14+
Recommendation: Buy
Source: Bought





Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all.The storm is coming (goodreads.com)

Storm is the first book in a new Young Adult Paranormal Romance series. Its a fresh new take on the paranormal, you wont find any vampires, witches or ghosts here but there is many things that you will find. This series is based on a group of brothers who are Elementals, yes that's right ELEMENTALS. They control the elements of Air,Water,Earth and Fire. If that's not unique enough for you here's a few things that sealed the deal for me: the characters are so realistic there are no goody two shoes or bad boys for life in this book. They are like real life people, they make mistakes and they grow from them. I love when characters truly believe that what they are doing is the right thing even if it is not, you can sympathize with the characters of Storm. I recommend that you buy this book and give it a try. Spark is the next in the series and the next on my reading list. These books are addictive!