Beautiful Disaster (Jamie McGuire)

I received a text message one day from my friend and all it said was, "You need to read Beautiful Disaster ASAP."  It took a couple months for the library to order the book once I requested it, but I have now successfully received and read the book!

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire is focused around one main character, Abby (aka Pigeon).  She has moved away to school with her best friend, America.  Through America, Abby is introduced to Travis, a bad boy that she can't quite stay away from.  The book follows their year together as they try to figure out what it is about their relationship or friendship that is so complicated.

I'm not sure what to say about this book - I guess I was expecting a lot since it came highly recommended.  I did find myself glued to the book.  On Sunday, I spent the majority of my afternoon and evening reading since I just couldn't put it down. 

I enjoyed how there was so much detail about every event that occurs in the book.  Their relationship is explored, but it's more than some books - there is more of the conversations they have and the thoughts behind their actions.  Instead of just saying that they went out for dinner, there is lots of description about what happens while they are out.

In terms of writing, I wouldn't say that it's a literary masterpiece.  You could often predict what would happen in the book (or maybe it was just me wishing that what I wanted to happen would actually happen) and there isn't much thinking behind what you're reading. 

I would classify it as an easy to read, young adult fiction book.  It definitely wouldn't be a book for everybody, but this week, when I have had so much going on, I found it was a great distraction and was just what I needed.

If you enjoyed Twilight-type books, you will likely enjoy this one.  (Plus, judge the book by the cover - that's an amazing image, right?)

Lover Eternal - The Black Dagger Brotherhood (J.R. Ward)

If you haven't already read my embarrassing post about how I started the series "The Black Dagger Brotherhood," you can read all about it here.  If you need a laugh today, that could be it!  Checking "Lover Eternal" out of the library was a little bit less embarrassing than my first J.R. Ward library experience, but it still caused a bit of blushing at the check out counter!

The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a series (there are ten books in all) about a brotherhood of vampires.  The terminology and concepts are much different than those used in Twilight books - that is, there aren't werewolves, but instead there are lessers, and their rules for eating and whatnot are different.  But all in all, they are still vampire books and they are a bit more "grownup" than Twilight.

Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward is the second book in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series.  The first book, Dark Lover, focused on the relationship between Beth and Wrath, whereas this book focused on two different characters, Rhage (vampire) and Mary (human).  I would go so far as to say that this book, though dealing with the same group of vampires and same concepts, is different enough from the first book that you could read this one without having read the first one.  In fact, Beth and Wrath (the stars of the first book), make only a few short appearances in this novel. 

The storylines in this book: The first problem with their relationship is that Rhage is a vampire and Mary is a human.  He falls in love with her instantly, but it's against the rules for him to be dating a human.  Then, enter the fact that Rhage has been cursed - he has a "beast" inside of him, a beast that he's worried will harm Mary someday.  Finally, add in the fact that Mary has leukemia and it seems like all the cards are stacked against them. 

I found this book was exciting, just like the first novel.  There was obviously a romance side to the novel (as the title suggests), but there are many other topics addressed.  There was a lot more interaction with the other vampire brothers in this novel, which was nice, there were the cancer issues, and there was still the fighting with the lessers.  The end of the novel hints that the third book will focus on yet another vampire, Zsadist.  

I liked the book, almost better than I liked the first novel, Dark Lover.  If you're into vampires, I would still recommend this series. 

Dark Lover (J.R. Ward)

Are you a Twilight fan?  And if so, do think that maybe you're a bit too old for Twilight?  Then I have just the book recommendation for you!

If you haven't already read my embarrassing library story detailing how I ended up with this book in my hands, you should do that now. 

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward is a vampire love story with a bit of action and suspense.  Wrath is a purebread vampire who was asked by his friend (Darius) to take care of his (Darius') daughter (Beth) as she went through her "changing" from human to half-vampire.  (She's the daughter of a human mother and a vampire father, so obviously when she's about 25, she will go through her change and become a vampire.)  Although Wrath first declined the opportunity, it does fall upon him... Beth and Wrath have an undeniable chemistry from the beginning and he must do everything he can to help protect her. 

This book was like Twilight - but more hardcore in many ways.  There was a lot of detail about their "brotherhood" (that is, the vampires who are responsible for the livelihood of the vampire population) and about "lessers" (the humans without souls who are trying to get rid of the vampires).  A lot of interesting information was introduced and will no doubt be built upon in future books of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series.  The information seems to go into more depth about the vampires in this book than what Twilight ever did.  Also, there is more information about their relationships in this book, making it appeal to an older audience. 

I liked the book.  I found it a bit confusing at the beginning because I was learning a lot of new 'terms,' but once you get into it a bit, it all makes sense.  It was easy to read and kept you entertained by moving back and forth between different storylines that are all somehow connected. While you are comfortable with the ending of the book (i.e. it doesn't make you want to immediately go grab the second book in the series off the shelf), there is so much left to happen with the characters that you do feel as if you need to continue in the series to find out more.

"'Life is full of wonderful surprises, isn't it?'
'It certainly is.'" (Dark Lover, J.R. Ward, p. 329)

If you're not into the fantasy and vampire thing, then this is not for you.  However, as I mentioned, if you are a vampire fan but are looking for something a little more adult, then this would be a good pick.

The Maze Runner (James Dashner)

Initially, I had only stopped at Chapters to look for the November/December edition of the National Geographic Traveler.  One of my friends will have a photo featured after being a merit winner in the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.  My friends are just so awesome!

Being too early for the magazine (guess they really do mean that it will be out in November), I was wandering around during a 20% off sale.  I wasn't going to buy anything until I walked by the Young Adults table in the middle of the aisle. 

Usually, I notice and kind of smile at how the Young Adults table is covered in vampire books.  I read the Twilight books and, while I liked getting caught up in the vampire craze at the time, I think I'm done with the vampire world (except for maybe the last two Twilight movies, of course).  This time, I also noticed The Maze Runner by James Dashner on the table.  Not being like all the other vampire books on the table, I picked it up and read the back.  I just had a feeling that it could be another book, like The Hunger Games, that would surprise me and bring me to another world.

Let's start with a short description.  Thomas wakes up in a giant box that has brought him to a place called the Glade.  Around the Glade are large stone walls that open each morning and close each night, leading to a huge maze.  This place has a population that is make up entirely of kids - and they're all boys.  No one really knows why they are there or how to get out.  They only know that every month, a new boy shows up in the box, and that whoever sent them there is watching them and is providing them with the food and supplies they need to survive.  A day after Thomas arrives, there's an unexpected arrival in the box - a girl.  Things start to change in the Glade and everyone works hard to find the answers they need to survive and get out of the weird world they are in. 

I'm not entirely sure where to start with my thoughts on this book.  I liked it - just not as much as I liked The Hunger Games.  I found that it took me a little while to get used to the language used in the book.  And, because of "how they do things" when someone first arrives at the Glade, there were lots of conversations at the beginning of the book that I found confusing - I understand that they have a system for how they introduce people to the environment, but there was almost too much running around in my head for the first few chapters.  Once I got some answers, I found that it all made a lot more sense to me. 

I was intrigued throughout the book, really trying to come up with solutions for the problems these kids were facing in the Glade.  (And I feel uber smart because I came up what they tried in Chapter 42 before the author said it.)

You realize that they're all just kids and that they've been forced to grow up because of the situation they were put in.  I think there could be some great discussions around this theme, especially if this book was used in a classroom setting.

I am somewhat satisfied with the ending.  You feel a little relief for the tension you were feeling, but it does leave you with a twist in the Epilogue...  You kind of want more answers - answers which you hope will be answered in the next book, The Scorch Trials.  I'll probably reserve the next book from the library even though I'll have to wait a month or so before it's in (which is good news for the book - there is a wait list for it!). 

If you're in the mood for something a little different - a book that has some real life themes mixed with a lot of imagination - then I'd recommend this.