Review: White Cat

White Cat by Holly Black

 Book Rating: 4/5 Stars

Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; Reprint edition (February 8, 2011)

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

  INTRO & SETTING: I thought this book was really good. It got a little boring in places, but other than that, it was fascinating.The world in which Cassel lives, where everyone wears gloves and charms in fear of being "worked" really catches your attention. There's also just the perfect amount of foreshadowing about what happened with Lila. The main setting is really Cassel's Grandfather's house, where Cassel grew up. It really was cool, simply because of everything in it. And that's a LOT, seeing as his Mom never threw away ANYTHING. Ever.

 CHARACTERS: Wow. Just wow. Characters are everything in this book. And I have to say, Cassel is hot. Just saying. His brothers, Philip and Barron, scare me, as do a lot of the other people in the book. I have to be honest, I don;t like Lila much. Sure, she's brave. And strong. But she seems..... Well, I don;t know. I just don;t like her a whole lot. My favorite character is probably Cassel's grandad. He's a death worker, and he's a totally kick-ass type of person. He loves his family, despite their problems, and you know he would do anything for them. 

 PLOT: This book had a really complicated plot. The suspense is laid on pretty thick, and the climax will have you thinking, "Cassel, you're screwed." And the ending sort of breaks your heart into a million little sad, weepy pieces. Anyways, I thought the plot was really well developed. 

 RANT SPACE: I don't really have anything to rant about. Good setting, characters, and plot. I've heard that if you liked the Heist Society, then you'll like this book. So I hope you guys will check this  book out! I definitely enjoyed it. 

Haven by Kristi Cook Giveaway!

So, this is my apology for being a terrible blogger. I've not posted in two weeks- I am truly a shameful little parasite. Anyways, I agonized over which book to give away. I'm very stingy, you see, but then the little angel adn devil things appeared on my shoulders.
The devil says, "Just give them a few rusty old paperbacks- you NEED your recent releases."
 So I grabbed three paperbacks, taking twenty minutes to decide on which ones.
  Then that pesky little angel popped up.
 "Now, Riley. You're being so selfish. Don't you want to spread the joy of  reading? Do you really want them to think you only give out washed-up, old books? No. Be nice."
  So I ever so grudgingly put the paperbacks back in their shelf and picked up Haven. It's still in store condition, no little pen marks, and it's a moderately thick book. So, lets get to the rules.




CONTEST RULES:

• US only! Sorry, but that's all I can afford. 
• You must be a follower.
• You can tweet or blog about this for extra entries- tweeting is +2, blogging is +5.  
• Just leave a comment with your email, and if you tweeted or blogged, leave the links. You're email will ONLY be used to contact you when you win, and I promise I won't spam you about your great-great auntie Haralio who's dog died and she needs fifty thousand dollars for the funeral costs of Pooky Boo-Boo.  
• The contest ends June 1st.

 So that's it! Again, I'm terribly, wholeheartedly sorry for being a slacker.
 

Grounded.

So, hi. *awkward wave* As you just read, Riley is grounded. Before you start screaming "RILEY, YOU LIAR!YOU'RE ON YOUR LAPTOP RIGHT NOW!!!" let me say something.

I AM NOT RILEY!


Okay. I'm not yelling at you, just wanted to get the point across.


But anyways, my name is Brielle (Yes, the chick that held the contest with Riley.) . Anyways, Riley is grounded. Not for anything huge, like stealing a diamond or kidnapping an author. I'm not completely sure why, but I think she said something about an argument about taking away her books. Yeah, sounds intense.


But basically, she's grounded for a week and not allowed to touch her laptop. Therefore, no posts. Sorry.


 UPDATE:
 This would be Riley! I'm happy to say that I begged quite feverently (which involved me laying on the floor  gasping and clawing at the air, screaming about chicken monsters that want to eat my eternal soul with ketchup {I despise ketchup})
 Anywho, just to clairify:
THIS IS RILEY. 

 I am also happy to tell you that I plan on hosting a giveaway soon, to help boost my followers. (I HAVE NO SHAME!) So check back over here in a day or two. I'll try and have the post up!

 Skittles and Lemonade,

Genres?

So, lately I’ve been becoming more aware of all the genres out there. Paranormal, Urban, Adventure, Romance, Dystopian, Mystery…. Seriously, there are SO MANY.  So I started thinking (I recently discovered I could do that. Think, I mean.) Why  do I love Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and a few Dystopian novels?

 Well, here’s a little list I made full of reasons why I love these genres.

1) ROMANCE. I’m a hopeless romantic. And while I don’t want a novel to be centered completely around the romance- that kills the point of the bigger plot-  most of the time romance is a key point in Paranormal, Urban, and usually Dystopian.

2) VIOLENCE. I’m a action junkie. Some novels in these genres don’t- but a lot of them do. And, as sick as it may sound, I love good fight scenes that are well thought out and paced evenly.  Take The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for example-  part of what made these books great is its detailed fight scenes.

 3) CREATIVENESS. These books are brimming with creativeness. Each one is different- and each one is brilliant in its own way. One main character is a siren, another is a vampire, and another is a gorgon. They take place in different times, places- in books we can be anything we wish, and we can be anywhere we wish.

4) FRIENSHIP. Now, you may think I’m crazy after this one. Which I most likely am. But in a way, you form a friendship with the main characters, and even secondary characters, in the books you read. How could you not, after you have seen their every thought, every desire? And that leads me to my next point.

5) BREAKING BOUNDARIES. This is a major one for me. Before I got really into books, I thought that the “popular” kids were a bunch of brainless, whore-tastic bitches. But then, as I began to explore books more, I started to realize: we’re all just people. By judging someone on their social rank, I was no better than a “popular” kid. And this isn’t just limited to my favorite genres- they all cover this. But a Paranormal/ Urban book that really changed my view on others was Nevermore by Kelley Creagh. It’s told in third person limited, the MC being a popular girl named Isobel. A cheerleader, with blond hair and a jock boyfriend. But as I got deeper into the story, saw her do the things that I would never have the courage to, I formed some respect. I started talking to the popular kids at our school more. So to sum it up: don’t judge people so easily, because guess what? That makes them the better person.

Anyways, I’ve yapped your ears off, probably. I got a little off track, also, but I think I covered my bases. I hope you all enjoyed this, and If you made it to the end, you truly have the nerves of steel. So if you agree, disagree, whatever, feel free to comment. I’d love to know your point of view.

Waiting On Wednesday (6)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine. 

                                                           Dead Rules by Randy Russel 

  Expected publication: June 21st 2011 by HarperTeen

 "Sometimes falling in love means you have to kill somebody.
   Jana Webster and Michael Haynes were destined to be together forever. Of that, Jana was sure.
  But Jana just died—in a bowling accident. And now she’s trapped in Dead School. Jana is certain that it won’t be long before Michael kills himself in order to spend eternity with her—but the days are passing and Michael is, inexplicably, still alive. So Jana decides to take matters into her own hands. And nothing—not even Dead School bad boy Mars Dreamcote’s enticingly warm touch or the devastating secret he holds about her death—will stop her from making her dreams come true.
  Romeo and Juliet meets Heathers in this hilariously macabre take on paranormal romance, packed with heart-stopping suspense and sizzling star-crossed love."


 This book looks really cool and spooky. I can't wait! What do you guys want this week?

Teaser Tuesday: The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan


(Amazon , Goodreads)


"I put my hand on his feverish forehead. Now I knew why Jaz had appeared to me as a ren, the part of her soul that represented a name. I knew why she'd shown me the vision of Isis and Ra.
 I'd never thought about it before, but the ren was the same as someone's secret name. It was more than just a special word. The secret name is your darkest thoughts, your most embarrasing moments, your biggest dreams, your worst fears, all wrapped up together. It's the sum of your experiences, even those you don't want to share.  You could only find out a persons secret name from the person himself- or the person closest to his heart."

Daily Dose (4)

Daily Dose is hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly.
Uhg. I am no good at themes. So here is a bunch of random photos off my computer.

IMM (5)

So, this week, I got:
BOUGHT:

 

White Cat by Holly Black (Amazon , Goodreads)

That's all for this week! Again, sorry for the lack of real like pictures. I have the memory of a fruit fly and left it.... at an unknown location. I hope you all have book-filled weeks to come!