Here Comes Sandy

Hey guys! Just want to let you all know that Sandy should be hitting soon on the East Coast and if anyone else like myself are on the East Coast, I wish you safety and to remember to stay indoors. Have plenty of candles, flashlights and canned food ready in case the power goes out.

This will also be a cool time to cut down your TBR pile as you have nothing else to do but read. So stay safe and I'll see you all soon. If the power doesn't go out I'll still post and keep with the updates. But if not, I'll see you all later when we are all safely back with power and stuff. =D

Book Review: Ten

Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Pages: 294
Publication: 18 September, 2012
Rating: A for Acceptable
Copy: Received by HarperCollins Publisher

Review: Who doesn’t love a good murder story? I mean seriously, we go out in big groups and pay close to fifteen bucks just to see a bunch of teens make bad choices and get killed by one person. As pathetic as it sounds, it’s very exciting watching the gruesome ways they get killed and what the motive behind it all was. So when I heard about Ten by Gretchen McNeil I just knew I HAD to read it. Finally, HarperCollins Publishers sent me a copy and I couldn’t wait to dive in.

I knew that I would enjoy the book that was centered around murders and I did enjoy it. There were just some things that were a bit off. I should break this into parts so that no one here gets confused. The story. I enjoyed the story, I immediately tried to predict who the murder would be and hoped that I was wrong. And it was fun seeing who was being killed one by one and knowing that my predictions were possibly coming true. I kind of wished that it didn’t stick to the cliché of who makes it towards the end and who doesn’t because it kind of killed the mood but whatever.

I enjoyed the different ways that the killings were portrayed, as odd and cruel as that sounds. But seeing it connected to the motive was actually pretty cool. There was specific ways each one died and it was because of something they had previously done. Kind of like Saw only less gruesome and less of a chance to survive. But the characters, that’s where things started to get complicated.

I truly did like the characters to a certain extent. I felt like a novel of this type should’ve been a bit longer and possibly not YA because it just doesn’t give me that same factor as movies or adult books. While some of them I cared for, others I couldn’t even begin to worry about that someone was after them. One minute they were there and the next minute they were gone. I could try to explain this by comparing to another book about dying teens but it wouldn’t help. It just didn’t give me enough to care about them.

My main problem was with the main character. Again, I did like her character but there were certain parts where she really pissed me off and not in a good way. Not in a, “this character is so dumb omg!” but more in, “why did this author just do that, she ruined a good thing.” You might not see a difference but there is. When you’ve just seen someone dead from being hanged, you don’t think of certain things. So when the guy you like gives you a tap on your kiss, you would think about it for a few shocked seconds and then move on. At least, a normal person would. But Gretchen McNeil went out to give us some inner dialogue that Meg, our heroine, thought.

When the guy she likes T.J. gives her a tap kiss before doing something dangerous her immediate thoughts were, “He kissed me. What does this mean? I hope my best friend Minnie didn’t see. What if she saw, what will I do or say?” Mind you they’re in the forest, trying to find something and have barely escaped falling from their lives, and all she can think about is if Minnie saw the kiss from where she is. Which is inside of the house. She even looks to see if there’s a view of it. Again I repeat, she almost fell to her death and they’re in the middle of a storm outside. It completely ruined the mood and felt so forced and so crappy that I knew this book went away from five stars.

But aside from the forced romance scenes that were so spaced out it made no sense, the book was alright. It seemed a bit cliché at parts but the end truly surprised me. The writing was also good and flowed great and kept me reading non stop. Although, some parts just seemed a bit too convenient like certain deaths, I still managed to overlook that. My only problem is that I am now still on a quest to read a killer book about a killer. And I’ve learned my lesson to not check YA.

Tuesday's Novel Spotlight (45)

Hello beautiful people! You all look very wonderful today, or at least your computers do. It's like you're glowing and it must be because of the books being released today! Which are some amazing finale books! And I just realized all three are the final books of the series!

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick! I still haven't read Silence by Hush, Hush was the very first ARC that I have ever gotten so it'll be cool to finish a series that I've been since before the very beginning!

Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl! I'm currently reading Beautiful Darkness so I have a while before I reach the end but I just want to own this book because the covers are amazing in person and I can't wait to see them all together in person.

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima! Another series where I've been with it since the first book. I can't wait to see how it ends and I know it'll be crazy. Also, can't wait to see the covers together! 

I seriously need to get these books ASAP because it's making me crazy not owning them! Let me know in the comments which of these books you're waiting for or have already bought!

Find me on other place;

Twitter: @SubtleChronicle

Facebook: The Subtle Chronicler

Goodreads: Michael Araujo

Monday's Novel Talk (51)

Hello everybody! Welcome to Monday, the worst day of the week. Blah!

Anywho, I've been reading a lot or so I think.

I'm currently on page 94 of Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl and it's getting good. I loved the first one and I can't wait for the movie so I'm excited to see how this one pans out. If you haven't seen it already, below is the trailer to Beautiful Creatures which will be out February 2013!



So let me know what you think of the trailer down below and what you're currently reading!

Stacking The Shelves (2)

Holy Shiznet! I haven't done one of these in the longest! But I've been getting books like crazy! Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by the beautiful and ever-wonderful Tynga from Tynga's Reviews! Ever since that drama went down Tynga took it upon herself to create an awesome and new meme and came up with this one. The purpose is to show the books you got during the week to help others find things to read and see what new books are out there.

This week I got 9 books sent by HarperCollins Publishers!

So let's start off!

Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started will be given away to a friend of mine who likes Justin Bieber. I don't exactly like him enough to read about him. The same goes for One Direction Behind The Scenes which will be given to a different friend who is in love with them.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White I now own a Hardcover copy which is awesome and I can add to my collection now!

Warriors Box set will be given to my nephew who I will buy the other books for him.

Wildwood and Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy lead vocalist of The Decemberists I can not WAIT to read these. They give me a Narnia feeling, love the cover art and the way it feels. I might save these for December along with Big Nate In A Class By Himself by Lincoln Pierce which is a Holiday book.

And that's all I got, some pretty exciting things in there that I can't wait to read. What did you stack your shelves with this week?

You can also find me in these awesome places;

Twitter: @SubtleChronicle
Facebook: The Subtle Chronicler
Goodreads: Michael Araujo

Page Views Reset?

So an hour ago my page views were normal and now I check and it was reset back to 0! Which sucks! I had thousands and thousands of page views and now it's as if I've done nothing. Even on the posts page it says 0 even though the comments are still there. It's as if I never had page views! As if I just started and now I'm up to 60!

AND NOW I JUST CHECKED AND IT'S BACK! ALL 70,000+! of them! Sweet merciful Zeus! Did you guys get this problem or just me? I know some others also got them!

Tuesday's Novel Spotlight (44)

I've missed you guys oh so much! And I've missed posting on here regularly but hopefully that will change and I'll start coming on here more. =D Today I'm here to introduce a book to the world that has been released today and it's pretty funny but only now did I notice that it was by an author that I enjoy reading!

Beta by Rachel Cohn!

Elysia is created in a laboratory, born as a sixteen-year-old girl, an empty vessel with no life experience to draw from. She is a Beta, an experimental model of a teenage clone. She was replicated from another teenage girl, who had to die in order for Elysia to exist.

Elysia's purpose is to serve the inhabitants of Demesne, an island paradise for the wealthiest people on earth. Everything about Demesne is bio-engineered for perfection. Even the air induces a strange, euphoric high, which only the island's workers -soulless clones like Elysia- are immune to.

At first, Elysia's life is idyllic and pampered. But soon she sees that Demesne's human residents, who should want for nothing, yearn. But for what, exactly? She also comes to realize that beneath the island's flawless exterior, there is an undercurrent of discontent among Demesne's worker clones. She knows she is soulless and cannot feel and should not care-so why are overpowering sensations clouding Elysia's mind?

If anyone discovers that Elysia isn't the unfeeling clone she must pretend to be, she will suffer a fate too terrible to imagine. When her one chance at happiness is ripped away with breathtaking cruelty, emotions she's always had but never understood are unleashed. As rage, terror, and desire threaten to overwhelm her, Elysia must find the will to survive.

The first in a dazzlingly original science fiction series from best-selling author Rachel Cohn, Beta is a haunting, unforgettable story of courage and love in a corrupted world.

The Story: It sounds kind of interesting but I'm afraid that like many YA novels, love is going to be the main part of it. Which sucks. It already says so in the synopsis so ugh! Whenever a synopsis mentions love as a main factor, that's my signal to run away. But the rest seems very interesting and like it could be good.

The Cover: I love the cover! Love the colors, they're very pastel-like and not bright and in your face. The girls eyes and the tattoo on her face. Just everything about it compliments each other and doesn't try to overrun each other. Also love the font it looks pretty awesome!

The Verdict: I most likely won't be buying this or reading. If it were for the alone being on my shelf I would but other than that nope. I'll check out some reviews to see how it does though!

What are your thoughts on the author, cover and story? Leave your comments down below.

Don't forget to check out

Twitter: @SubtleChronicle

Facebook: The Subtle Chronicler

To Be Read Pile (October 2012)

I seriously have the worst luck in the world ever! My laptop decided to have the keyboard stop working out of NOWHERE! What kind of crap and then weeks later it started again! Just what? -sigh- Technology seriously does hate me lol. Anyway, I present to you my To Be Read Pile for October!

To Be Read Pile (October)

Yes.... There are more books than last month but it's not my fault! Harper Collins Publisher sent me 6 books for Halloween and then 1 normal book. This wasn't planned, I wasn't expecting and thus it brought my TBR Pile up! But I also bought 4 books. One of them I had already read so it didn't go to the TBR Pile. But still you can see that there's more books there than before. D= Although the bottom shelf is more empty because I added some of the books to the top! =P

To Be Read Pile (September)

This month, since it is October, I'm planning on read the six Halloween books I was sent. After that I'll try to go for Beautiful Darkness and if there's still time Beautiful Chaos. I also plan on reading The Casual Vacancy either at the end of this month or the beginning of next.

Last month I had 43 books. I read 7 books and have started my 8th! With that and receiving books my pile was raised up to 47 books! Damn it all, I'll never leave here lol.

With what I plan to read the Halloween books and then some more I'll hopefully be down to 40 books. Hopefully.

Do you have a picture of your TBR Pile? Leave the link to it down below!
Hopefully my laptop doesn't act up so I can put a few more posts up. We'll see.