The BOOM!!! Gene

I know. I know. I said I wouldn't post another GoodReads review on here but... I'm feeling lazy so... that's what you're going to get... I'll try not to do it again... but seeing as how I have a lot of studying to do and not enough time to read AND write two different reviews, you might be seeing a few more of them. Anyway, a review is a review, right?

Anyway, remember a while back I posted a link about The Apocalypse Gene by Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark and telling you all that I think you should read it? Well, the lovely Suki Michelle was kind enough to send me a copy of the book so that I can review it and let you all know what I think. So, without further ado, here's my review of The Apocalypse Gene.

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Oh wow! That ending! Can you believe it!? It was like, "Bam!" Then it was like, "Bang!" And then it was like, "BOOM!" Phew! That was a lot of action! But let me calm down now and actually give you a proper review. This book is an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat kind of read. The story was very unique and invigorating! Most of the characters are very relatable and fun to learn more about. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the lore of this novel. There were things in here that you feel you've learned about but then the authors throw in some twists and turns of their own that leave you speechless! This was indeed a very fun, energetic read! Before I read this book, I was in a reading slump. In fact, I haven't read a book in about two months because I just wasn't in the mood to. Most books that are being written today are just not entertaining to me. It's the same story re-hashed over and over again so I just didn't feel the need to read anything. That was before the brilliant Suki Michelle contacted me and asked me if I was interested in reading her and Carlyle Clark's book, The Apocalypse Gene. When she was so kind to offer, I jumped at the chance to. I was completely sold when she said that Carlyle loves anime (and it shows! Read the book so you can see what I mean!). My goodness. I am truly grateful to them both for helping me get over my reading dilemma and for introducing me to a wonderful book!

Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark did an amazing job at writing this book. Their writing style is top-notch! I love how they were able to work their styles together and make it balance into a nicely written novel. The style is not overly complex that you feel you need to take a breather after every sentence because it makes absolutely no sense to you... yet it's structured in a way that makes you think about what's going on in the story and what the characters should do in order to resolve the issues. I think what I enjoyed most about this novel is the story itself. It's quite different. It takes place in this sort of post-apocalyptic world where a terrible disease has spread throughout the entire world. But it doesn't end there! There's so much more to it that I can't say anything else otherwise it will spoil the whole book! Seriously, this is one of those books that I have to be very careful not to say too much or... well, you'll know what's going to happen and I don't want to ruin it for you guys~ <3 The world, the lingo, the gadgets, everything! All of it was so fascinating to me! I wish we had the technology of going to V-School and having a Holo-Sim! Those things sound awesome! (Don't know what I'm talking about? Read the book!) This dystopian book was wonderfully planned out and I am so happy I read it since dystopians are one of my favorite genres. ^_^

And now, as with all my other reviews, I shall talk about characters! We shall start with the two main heroes. The first one: Olivya. I have to be completely honest with you guys... I wasn't a fan. I felt that her character was absolutely shallow. Selfish in every way possible. I didn't like how at first, she only liked Mikah, the male protagonist, for his looks. I believe there is so much more to a person than their physical appearances and, throughout most of the book, that's the only thing she cares about. In fact, even by the end of the book, there's still some of that left. I thought that once the story progressed a bit further, she was going to go through so HUGE character development, and in some ways, she did. There was this scene where she watched over her mother and I thought, "Wow... you are actually showing responsibility and not trying to put the blame on everyone else." I felt that she finally matured. Then Mikah came back into the picture... and she commented on his appearance again. Really, Olivya? You're going to backtrack like that? *Sighs* I just was not taken in to her character. By the end of the book, I didn't find her as annoying but I still feel she needs to go through some major development before I am able to say I enjoy her. Still, she was an amazing fighter and there were times that I liked her spunk. She could be a very great character... if only she stopped being shallow. On to Mikah! I. Love. Mikah. I thought he was a great female lead! He showed actual interest in Olivya and not because she was beautiful or anything! No. It was because he liked HER. Her personality. Her fire. Her everything. Now he's someone I can enjoy! Plus, he was very intelligent, honorable, caring, sweet, fun, you name it! I love how he wanted to do whatever he could to save Olivya and the world he lived in. I really enjoyed him as a character. Olivya could learn a thing or two from him.

Side characters! I can't say too much of them because it'll ruin a lot of plot-points from the book so I will briefly touch upon a few of them. There's Mrs. Wright-Ono, Olivya's mother, and she was pretty cool. She's this no-nonsense type of mother but she could also be quite fun. I liked her a lot. Changarai, Mikah's "father" of sorts, is very loving and wise. Without him or Mikah, a lot of things about the book would make no sense to the reader! I'm grateful for them both! The Neo-Twins, Kaiman and Ash, were simply badass. Ash doesn't say much but he can knock your butt into oblivion! Kaiman... I have a crush on him. He has this... flamboyant air about him, which made me smile, but he also has this tough attitude about him. He can be quite sarcastic, too. And devious! God, I love him! XD There's Ayvilo who kinda annoyed me but I can't say why. Once you read the book, I'm sure you'll get it. I did like how she was able to wield her Nagamaki sword! That was epic! (God, I love the Japanese influence this book has!) Hakim is another character I adored! He has this elegance about him. Such a smooth, gentle, wise talker. I love him! There's Prime... and I can't say anything about him. Just know that he's cool. Then there's my favorite character: Lylobriel. Oh God! I cannot tell you how much I love him! His gentleness, his awesomeness, his... everything! I love him so much. Plus, he truly is a beautiful character. Very intelligent and wonderful and... *Swoons* ...I love him. I wish I could say more! But I can't! I will say this: Lylobriel and Morfexio are the perfect example of what friends should be like. Their relationship was the best one out of the entire book, in my opinion. (Plus, I'm a full-time yaoi fangirl so my brain totally ships them. That's right. I said it. AND I'M NOT ASHAMED OF IT!!!)

This book was a trip! The ups and downs, the craziness of what's happening in the world, the technology going out of whack, the characters losing their minds. It's all a bunch of good, entertaining fun waiting to happen. Like I said, this book is amazing. Besides that one drawback I mentioned previously, this book was such an amazing experience. Would I read it again? Of course! It was amazing and I will always want to re-visit this world that Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark created for us. I am looking forward to the next in the series so much! After that ending and what's coming their way, how could I NOT want to read it!? I will definitely be picking up the next book whenever it is released! I want to thank the authors, once again, for giving me the opportunity to read their book. It was amazing and I truly enjoyed myself. Thank you so very much! As to all who are reading this review right now, GO GET THIS BOOK! I promise you, you will not be disappointed! You will enjoy this book a whole lot! So what are you waiting for!? GET TO READING!

Rules of Constipation!

This book... was not that great... just letting you know now. I was not a fan at all. This is the last review that I am posting that's on GoodReads. I swear, this will not happen again. I will try to post as soon as I can about those other things I mentioned. In the mean time, enjoy this review of Rules of Attraction by Simon Elkeles.

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Bah... this was just a horrible read. It was the same as PC and I just wanted to hang myself by the time it was over.

Let's see... where to start? I want to make it clear that I didn't completely HATE this book. I was mildly entertain throughout the entire thing which is why I continued the book all the way to the end. However, that doesn't change the fact that I found this book highly disappointing. Where Perfect Chemistry, though a very cliché story about two people who are completely different falling in love with each other, still had some elements that made the book a decent read, maybe not a great read but definitely a decent one, Rules of Attraction was no such book. It took everything Perfect Chemistry was, completely rehashed it, and spat it out to be something that's completely half-assed. If it actually TRIED to be its own unique story, I'm sure it would have been a decent read as well. But no. It's the EXACT same story just told through "other" characters. I was greatly disappointed to see myself reading the same book. Well, enough about that. Let's break this sucker down into the good and the bad.

How about the writing? Was it any good? Yes. It was very good. I don't doubt Simone Elkeles as being a fantastic writer. I enjoy her style quite a bit actually. She knows how to capture a reader's attention from the get-go. Her words flow so smoothly from one scene to the next. I must say that, for those of you who don't know me, I'm a huge fan of transition. Nothing makes me more happy than seeing an author who knows to go from one scene to another without making it seem like the reader missed an entire paragraph of text. So when I came across Simone's books and saw that she knew how to properly show transition, I peed my pants! I was that happy! X3 And that's not the only thing she knows how to do! I know she can tell a story that's suspenseful and intense as well. When I was reading Perfect Chemistry, I was really engaged in the story. Even though it's a story that had been told before, she wrote it in such a way that kept the reader excited to continue on all the way to the end. My only problem with Elkeles is that she was saying the same story all over again with very similar characters. Look, I'm glad that PC went well for her. Really, I am. But does that really give her an excuse to use the same story to gain an even bigger fanbase? Couldn't she be a little more creative than that? Just a little more originality is all I ask for! Another thing that bother me about her book this time around was the fact it included both Alex and Brittany. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate them, but I did feel there were in this book a little TOO much. This is supposed to be Carlos and Kiara's story. Alex and Brittany have no reason to be here. Their story is over and done with. They don't need to be hogging up anymore the spotlight. And that little thing with them at the end of the book? What the hell? What was up with that? It's like Alex did a complete 180 back to his roots in the beginning of PC. It was stupid and unnecessary. *Rolls eyes*

And if that wasn't bad enough, she uses similar characters in RoA that she had in PC. *Groans* The only difference with the characters is that they were more obnoxious in this book than they were in the previous one. You have Carlos, the male lead, who was exactly like Alex from PC... EXCEPT HE WAS MORE OF A DOUCHE!!! There was nothing likable about him at all. Anyone who cares deeply about him and only want the best for him, he treats like crap, saying how he can't get close to anyone because he is a bad person. A rebel. A guy who needs no love because he's a "gangbanger." *Scoffs* He's more of a pussy than anything else if you ask me. The worst attitude I have ever seen on a character. Oh, and did I mention he treats women like sluts? Even after he admits to "loving" Kiara, female lead, he still treats her like shit. AND HERE'S THE WORSE PART!!! Kiara bloody accepts that. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Why she puts up with his bullshit? Oh, because she loves him. It doesn't matter if she gave up her virginity to him to show him how much she cares and to keep him with her forever, which is a very stupid move on her part (no matter how much you like a guy, if he treats you like shit, you don't sleep with him to keep him closer), or the fact Kiara says to him that she doesn't care if he wants nothing with her because she's completely fine with giving herself up for him if it means he'll hold her for a little while... do you hear this bullshit? What kind of weak-willed, male-dependent, little cunt spews out this crap and expects people to take her seriously? It's a shame that most girls think this way. Also, it's a shame because I actually liked Kiara in the beginning. She was tough, didn't care about her appearance (although, she did cared a lot of what others thought about her...), and wasn't your typical girl. But, lo and behold, as soon as a penis comes into the picture (and a loser on top of that), she becomes like ever other female YA protagonist out there. This upsets me to no end. I want to finally see a girl stand up for herself the way she's supposed to. Not throw it out the window as soon as a man comes along. (AND A LOSER ON TOP OF THAT!!!) Jesus, it makes me feel such shame considering I, too, am female. *Sighs and shakes her head* Oh well... what can one do? EXCEPT BITCH AND RAGE ABOUT THE STUPIDITY OF THESE BLOODY CHARACTERS!!! *Snarls* Carlos and Kiara need to be hit by a freaking bulldozer. -_-""""""

Okay, I ranted enough. Time to talk about the good characters in this book. (This might not take long at all... there's really not that many.) I liked Kiara's family. Every single one of them. (Shame they had a shitty daughter.) I really enjoyed Brandon, Kiara's younger brother. He was cute, sweet, and very energetic... if a bit gullible. But, hey, he's six-years-old. I can cut him some slack... for now. *Narrows eyes* I also liked Collen, Kiara's mother. Her "health-freak" mannerisms is something I can relate to and I think anyone who promotes healthy eating is awesome in my book... even if they are a bit irresponsible (more on that in a second). Westford, Kiara's father, was a Super Daddy! He's strong, brave, sweet, kind, caring, loving, understandable, laid-back, and just plain old awesome! He was one of the few who tried to get Carlos to see that not everything is out to get him. He also told him to man up and quit being a pansy... just not in so many words. XD In any case, I really like the daddy. However, I did feel Kiara's parents where a little irresponsible. The fact that they let a total stranger into their house when they clearly know that they have a teenage daughter, don't keep an eye on them, allow them to be alone, and then expect that they don't fool around? Man, those are some pretty poor excuses for parents. Not to mention the rules they have. Okay, some of them are quite good. Like no taking drugs or drinking. But the curfews? Midnight on weekdays and two in the morning on weekends? Shit, I'm lucky if I'm aloud to go out for an hour with someone I barely even know, and even if I was allowed, it'll be around three P.M. I would have to be home by four P.M. the latest! I don't know... it just seems pretty unrealistic to me. As much as I love Kiara's folks, they really are doing a bad job in parenting. *Shrugs*

Yay! We've come to the part I was looking forward to the most!!! Talking about Tuck!!! (God, I love him!) Tuck is Kiara's gay best friend. (By the way, am I the only one who hates the fact that only the girls in YA literature get to have a gay best friend? Why can't the males have a gay best friend? Just because they have a friend that's gay doesn't make them gay. What kind of mentality is that anyway? We live in 20fucking11! Time to get over this whole "I'm too much of a man to wear pink" and get over yourselves! I demand to see a guy with a gay best friend right now!!!) *Ahem* Anyway, Tuck is one (if not only) of the best characters in this entire book! He's so hilarious! Every seen he is in made me crack up! I was always depressed to see him leave because he was, literally, the only character that didn't make me want to slap him upside the head. Even though I liked Kiara's parents, they still did things that made me want to whip out my mallet and bang them with it. Not Tuck, though! Tuck had a great sense of humor, never let anyone get the better of him, and didn't give two shits about what people thought of him. He was truly hardcore and he was a very good friend to Kiara. (Something she wasn't very much of to him but I digress.) He was there to support her even if he though Carlos was a douche. (And the hell he used to give Carlos was the highlight of the book! <3) Oh, man... I cannot say enough good things about his character. He was just... wonderful and amazing! Hell, I would like to read a book about him! I'm sure it would be a lot more entertaining than the crap I just finished reading. In fact, where does Alex Strong live? He's the inspiration for Tuck! Alex, I demand to see you right now so I can gush all over you. Yes, it IS as nasty as it sounds. *Smirks*

Alright, let's wrap this baby up. The book was... eh, okay. It's not a great read. It's not even a decent read. But it is okay. If you're curious enough, I suggest checking this one out of the library first before you buy it. It was very disappointing seeing as how it's the same old story about a boy who's in a gang that falls in love with a rich girl and they have the nasties together. I guess if you love PC, you'll love RoA. If that wasn't your favorite pastry then I say skip it... wait, it's actually worth the read! If only for Tuck! He's too awesome to pass up! *Slaps self* Well, not that the fangirl has been killed, I'll say this. Give it a try but only if you are curious enough. If not, forget it. I read the preview of Chain Reaction that came with my copy of RoA and let just tell you... it's the same story AGAIN with similar male characters AGAIN with a pathetic excuse of a female protagonist AGAIN! It's just... no. Elkeles, I am very disappointed in you. I know you can do better than this nonsense. Please, just try a little harder and then things might actual go well between you and I. You have the potential. Now just get to it! Anyway, that's all from me for now. I'll be coming very soon with another review for you. Stay tuned~ *Cue musical outro*

What I'm Reaing ATM!

Well, since I have nothing new to talk about... I figured I should talk about what I'm reading at the moment. Of course, if you guys follow my GoodReads then you should know already but here I go anyway!

Right now, I'm reading Redwall by Brian Jacques. It's a fairly cute book. The main characters are mice! MICE! I haven't read a book where the main characters are centered around animals since grade school! It's just so cute.  I love the story as well. It's your classic Good vs. Evil battle plot and I'm loving every minute of it. It takes me back to when I was in fifth grade. Ah~ I miss those days. Anyway, I think that this book is something I'm really going to enjoy.

There's three characters I love the most. Constance, a badger is just so badass. She can just kick you and you'd go flying to the moon! Then there's Basil Stag Hare. He's a nutty rabbit. Seriously, if you know who Zack Fair is then you know how Basil is. He's so bloody adorable! Then there's my absolute favorite! Methuselah. He's a wise old mouse! He knows everything there is to know about Redwall and its inhabitants! I love how intelligent this mouse is. I might be a bit biased towards him because one of his gifts is languages and I'm a bit partial to languages myself but still... XD He can figure things out, too! There's this little riddle in the book that they have to figure out and he does! He's so wonderful!

Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about the book. This is going to be somewhat of a new segment for this blog. I'm not going to write out my reviews here. As I said, I'm posting all my reviews up on GoodReads. However, I will post what my general thoughts are here. Kind of like if I like it or hate it. And if there's any characters that I like. If there are characters that I hate, I'll just hint at it and then let you see on my review. Hopefully this will keep this book blog alive. I'm pretty bad at keeping on top of things.

Also, I did went out to get more books but... I forgot to take pictures. I did make a video though! You should see that video up on my YouTube Page soon enough. I just have to edit it around some. XP Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new idea I have and I promise to take some pictures the next time I go out to get books! And don't forget, check out my GoodReads if you want to stay on top of what I am reading!

Till next entry! See ya!

CHECK OUT THIS AMAZING GIVEAWAY!

There's this wonderful YouTuber that goes by the username LexieVamp666 and she's just gain 1000 subscribers! Amazing, right? She really does deserve it. She does fantastic book hauls, wonderful update videos, and (of course) on point book reviews! You really should check her out! And whilst you're at it, check out her giveaway! Here's the video for your viewing pleasure!

This Book Blog...

...died pretty quick, ne? I don't know what's wrong with me. I set out to do one thing... then I get lazy. My initial intent with this blog was to post myreviews here... but then I got lazy. I still review but I kinda only do it on GoodReads. After that, I just move on to the next book. I don't know why I do that. I could just copy and paste it onto here but... meh. I feel that there's no need to have the same review posted in different places. It's just a waste of time, really. -_-"


So here's what I'm thinking of doing with this blog. (I know I should just delete it but... that'll be a waste!) I was thinking that I should use this blog as an updating thingy with books. (I know. My grasp of words is just amazing, right? >_<) What I mean to say is: whenever I go out to a bookstore or whenever I want to be creative and show you all the books I bought, I'm just going to take a whole bunch of pictures and post it on here for you guys. That'll be epic, no? I'm sure it would be. Anyway, that's what you can expect from me here.


If all you want are reviews, then you can read them on my GoodReads account: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4481312-rain-misoa


Anyway, thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you'll enjoy the change and if you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment... or something. Anyway, talk to you guys soon!


Till next entry! See ya!

Been A While, Ne? And news about a Breathless Giveaway!

I know, I know... I suck... I've be a terrible blogger as of late... I don't know... I just haven't really been inspired to update this thing. Not because I hate blogging or talking about books... just because I really haven't had the motivation to tell you about the new books I have been reading. I have been visiting the library a lot which has lead me to reading a lot of the "now" books. And I must say... they aren't that great... I just recently went to the library and took out quite a few new ones so here's to hoping I have some good ones... even if I don't blog about them. However, I do have a GoodReads account and I notice that I update that more than I do this thing. I should probablly work on that... anyway! Here's the link: GoodReads Account


There... and with that said, I have AWESOME NEWS! Beth Revis, the amazing author of the book Across the Universe, is having a givaway of all five books that was featured in the Breathless Tour. There's a Facebook Page, you can Tweet about it if you are into that sort of thing, and you can see the original blog post on Beth Revis' blog. (You can find the link down below.)


If you want more details, plese clink on the banner that will lead you to the official contest rules. I really recommend you checking it out. These authors are amazing and the books are completely awesome! Do it! It will make you a happy camper!

Birthday Adventure!

Hello world! I just had myself the time of my life for my birthday! My birthday is on the 16th of November... so I'm a bit late with this... but that's okay! Here's the video to my adventure! I hope you all enjoy and look forward to more reviews that will be posted throughout the weekend and an update video at the end of it all! Enjoy the adventure!

Book Haul 11/14/2010

Hello! I have a book haul for all of you. Excuse my apperance in this video... I didn't feel like getting dress... and the choppy editing... I went over the time limit. XD Anywho, enjoy!



 Wal-Mart Books:
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


eBay Books:
Vows And Honor Book I: The Oathbound by Mercedes Lackey
Vows And Honor Book II: Oathbreakers by Mercedes Lackey
Oathblood by Mercedes Lackey
Learn Japanese New College Text Volume I, II, and III
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days Official Strategy Guide
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Official Strategy Guide


Barnes & Noble Books:
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
Rurouni Kenshin Volume 7-10 by Nobuhiro Watsuki


Library Books:
Blue Moon by Alyson Noël
Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Book Haul 10/29/2010

Another one for you guys! This one is not that much of a book haul BUT it still has some cool books for you! I'm getting more in the mail and once they arrive, I will be doing another haul for you guys! Yeah... I like books. I'm an addict. Yes! I admit it! Now... time for the healing... Ahhhhhh! Anywho, enjoy!



Wal-Mart Books:
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Book Haul 10/22/2010

Well, I might as well post up the video that I did for my book haul. I thought that is would be easier for you guys to watch it on here than to go searching for it on YouTube. See? Aren't I a nice girl? XD Well, anyway, here it is for all its glory!



Library Books:
Kiss & Blog by Alyson Noël
Blue Moon by Alyson Noël
The Pact of the Wolves by Nina Blazon
Wolf-Woman by Sherryl Jordan
The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Ink Exhange bt Melissa Marr
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Wal-Mart Books:
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson & the Olympians The Ultimate Guide by Mary-Jane Knight
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Barnes & Noble Book:
Fallen by Lauren Kate

There it is! I hope you guys enjoyed and stay tuned for my first review! See ya!