Waiting on Wednesday: Entwined

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Pages: 480
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.--Goodreads

There's something about a book cover with a gorgeous ball gown, a lush forest, and a Gothic castle that just makes me giddy. So despite the fact that many of the earliest reviews of this have so far been lukewarm, I am still gonna give it a shot and, if nothing else, stare at the cover and pretend the book is great!

 I'm also really intrigued by this whole having eleven sisters thing. I have one sister and though we get along, I can't imagine having eleven siblings! Especially sisters! Can you imagine the chaos? And the clothes? And the bitchy fights?! However, if they're stepping through an enchanted passage to dance in a silver forest, I'm thinking that they probably get along juuuust fine.

What books are you (not so) patiently waiting on? Let me know in comments!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Top 10 Tuesday: Books I've Bought, But Haven't Read

This week's Top 10 Tuesday (hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish) is all about those books you couldn't resist buying, but then never got around to reading.

To be completely honest, this list was kind of hard for me to think up. I have a MASSIVE amount of student loans, so I typically go to the library, borrow books from friends, or raid the ARC shelf at work. So, I stretched the rules a little to include books I checked out, but never read, and still had a bit of a hard time coming up with 10. What can I say, I tend to read what I check out/borrow/buy!

Without further adieu, heeeeeeere we go!

1. Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann

This is one of those books I bought on impulse and really only because I thought the title was cool. I know that it's very critically acclaimed and that it's supposed to be awesome, but it is SO THICK. I just look at it and feel stressed about reading it, which is awful. It's just that I have so many other books in my stack right now! . . . I need to stop making excuses and just read it, but that hasn't quite happened yet.

2. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

So, I was a history major in undergrad and actually really love reading academic, non-fiction history books. If I'm going to read a book like that, this one is kind of a standout--it won a freakin' Pulitzer Prize. But every time I pick it up I get distracted by a shiny YA book . . .

3. Impossible by Nancy Werlin


There's really no excuse for why I haven't read this--every time I look at it on my bookshelf I think "Hey, I should read you." And then I just don't. I shall remedy this as soon as I've finished You Killed Wesley Payne. (Which thus far is awesome!)

4. Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Okay, this one is kind of embarrassing since it's so beloved and acclaimed, but I just could NOT get into this book. It's one that I checked out from le bibliotheque, and I really gave it a shot--I think I was about 100 pages in before I just gave up. :/ Maybe I'll pick it up again so I'll stop feeling shame.

5. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart 


This is another one that is probably unforgivable, and like Impossible, is a book that I desperately want to read. So many books! So many things to do! Not enough hours in the day!

6. 50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know by Mickey Z


Alright, I bought this funky little book at Urban Outfitters during a clearance sale thinking it'd be fun just to have around. And while it looks nice sitting on my bookshelf, I can honestly say that I haven't touched it since thumbing through it at the store.

7. The Complete Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare


This was a book that was gifted to me at graduation. *puts on pretentious nerd glasses* I'm actually quite well-versed in Shakespeare and was super excited to receive the gorgeous, leather-bound edition. I planned to read every play and every sonnet. *takes pretentious nerd glasses off* I have not accomplished that goal. And, interestingly, the plays that I haven't really read are the histories!

So, there it is, in all of its shameful glory. Feel free to let me know how horrible it is that I haven't read any/all of these in comments!

Review: The Vespertine

Title: The Vespertine
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Release Date: March 7, 2011
Pages: 304
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Format: Galley via NetGalley

There are three things that will ALWAYS make me pick up a book:  1) historical setting. 2) female main character. 3) Love interest who is an artist/musician/bohemian-type person. Being drawn to these types of stories, I have read many of them, some good, some very opposite of good. And I am glad to report that The Vespertine is great.

I wasn't sure if I'd like this book at first. It's told through narrative flashbacks of Amelia van der Broeck's disastrous summer spent in Baltimore. The first couple of chapters are pretty Debbie Downer-y and I was concerned that the entire book would be told in a very gray tone. But as soon as the story of Amelia's time in Baltimore launched, I was hooked.

Top 10 Tuesday: Book to Movie Adaptations

I am super excited about this week's (and my first!) Top 10 Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) because it combines two of my favorite things--books and movies! And better than that, I'm talking about my favorite film adaptations of books.

Considering that outside of work, the things I do most are read and watch movies, I like to think that I'm quite well-versed in this particular topic. So I've listed my favorites in a countdown fashion, added my comments on why I like the adaptation, and the trailer for you to check out if you feel so inclined.

Review: Vixen

Title: Vixen
Author: Jillian Larkin
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Page Count: 421
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

This book is absolutely addictive. Larkin's sultry, tawdry, beautifully detailed 1920s Chicago drew me in immediately, and made me wish that I could be right there with Gloria, Clara, and Lorraine, witnessing the glory days of speakeasies and feeling the dangerous thrill of mingling with gangsters, musicians, and flappers.

Each chapter alternates between Gloria, Clara, and Lorraine, who all have very different motivations, but, in a way, the same goal--they all feel trapped in their lives and what to be something more they who they appear to be--they want to be who they really are.

Review: I Am Number Four

Title: I Am  Number Four
Author: Pittacus Lore (aka, James Frey and Jobie Hughes)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction
Page count: 440
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: August 3, 2010

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.--from Goodreads 

After the  news of the James Frey Fiction Factory broke,  I found myself wrestling with my conscience over whether or not to read this book--I was curious to see if it was any good, especially because I knew that the screenplay (shopped around before the book, might I add) had made quite the splash in Hollywood, but I did not want to support overlord Frey or his minions who apparently don' t know how to read contracts. I held my moral highground for awhile, but when the movie trailers started airing and I heard others talking about how much they enjoyed the book, I finally decided that as long as I did not give my hard-earned money to James Frey and his Fiction  Factory, I could live with myself. So I headed to the library, gritted my teeth, and checked it out.

Although I ended up enjoying the book, it was quite different than what I expected of it--I'd heard all this hype about it being severely compelling and action-filled, but I didn't find it to be either of those things.

Sure, any story with a main character who is an alien that looks like a human teenager and is being hunted by evil aliens is a bit compelling, but the storyline didn't really suck me in the way I expected. I think that was mostly due to the fact that three-quarters of the book is character development and set-up. I could feel that there were big events on the horizon and was anxious to get to them, but all I was reading was "John is honing his powers, John needs to blend in, John is making friends, John has a girlfriend, John needs to be more careful"--and that got a little annoying.

Waiting on Wednesday: Chime

Title: Chime
Author: Franny Billingsley
Genre: YA
Page count: 368
Publisher: Dial/Penguin
Release Date: March 17, 2011

Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.--from Goodreads.

When I first read the description of this book, it didn't excite me one bit. In fact, I had chosen a different book to use as my Waiting on Wednesday choice for today. But then this morning I got to my office, got my coffee, and checked my email to read this morning's Shelf Awareness newsletter. In it, I found their review of Chime, and it totally changed my mind about this book.