New Adult

Today I am going to talk about the New Adult genre. Recently I have read quite a few very disappointing New Adult books. And I have read reviews by others about their disappointments in this genre.
And it made me think......Why is there now a "new adult" stereotype. New Adult is now often said to be only romance, no character development, no plot, just two people who fall in love (usually a good girl and a bad boy). I too have made these stereotypes.  And have opinions on the entire genre based on these books that happen to not have character development, a good plot, or more than the usual good girl/bad boy thin going on........Put a name for ALL New Adult. Not just that book. But for the entire genre.

I realized......Doesn't this sound familiar? Haven't I heard this before?

And then I remembered.....Remember Twilight? Vampires? Werewolves?
Ringing a bell at all? (I have never read Twilight myself, so I don't claim to be an expert at all on that subject) However......Twilight has been the thing that people who have not read Young Adult often judge Young Adult about. By reading Twilight. As if one, or two, or three, or even FOUR books can show you the beauty or horror of an entire genre?

If one Young Adult book is bad....Do you assume all Young Adult books are bad?
If one Adult Mystery is bad.....Do you assume all Adult Mystery's are bad?
If one Adult Romance is bad....Do you assume all Adult Romance is bad?

After my speculation I realized how much New Adult has been judged recently.
One bad New Adult book (or bad in your eyes) should not be your judge for the entire genre. And should not be MY judge of the entire genre. 

I have recently read a few great New Adult books that showed me that every genre has its own gems. So do yourself a favor. Don't quit after only one book. Find your right pick. You might be surprised.

Ignite Me (Book Review)

Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3)

Tahereh Mafi
Published February 4th 2014 by HarperCollins

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.






I have a confession to make. I didn't enjoy Shatter Me or Unravel Me.

(Cue shocked gasps/looks)

And I know why. When I read Shatter Me and Unravel Me, I had read a ton of dystopian lately (and when I mean a ton, I mean A TON!)

Shatter Me and Unravel Me just sort of blended in with all of the others.....And I wasn't that impressed. Thankfully, I was gifted Ignite Me recently, which made me actually pick it up to finish the series.

And I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, enjoyed it. No, REALLY!
For one, I actually enjoyed Juliette's character, which was one of my big problems with the first two books.....And I actually LIKED the plot.

Now, I know. The people who read this book are going to be split into two groups....Depending on which guy you liked better (but don't worry! No spoilers here :-)

So, if you have read Shatter Me and Unravel Me, and even if you didn't like them AT ALL.....Give Ignite Me a chance....Just a chance. You might be pleasingly surprised.

And on a side note.....Aren't the covers gorgeous!

Waiting On Wednesday (23) Waterfall

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is-

 

Waterfall (Teardrop #2)

by Lauren Kate

Expected publication: October 28th 2014 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

 

**Note** I am not actually sure of the expected publication, seeing as I found 2 different dates. One in October 2014, and on in November 2014.

 

I really enjoyed Teardrop by Lauren Kate, and am looking forward to what comes next!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previous book in series:

 

Have you read Teardrop? Did you enjoy it? What do you think of the covers?

 

Autumn Book Tag

The Autumn Book Tag!

Not sure where this tag originated, but thank you Ashly from Book 'n' Go for tagging me!
 

1) What is your favorite thing about Autumn? Ummmm the end? Just kidding....The weather and the smell  :-)

 2) What book on your shelves reminds you of going back to school/your school days? 

I know of one that I WISHED reminded me of my school days.......The Gallagher Girls series.

 3) Find a book on your shelf which has something Autumn related on the cover.
Not really autumn related, but the color scheme does remind me of this time of year.

4) What is your favorite horror/Halloween story? I don't read horror, so I will choose a thriller instead......The most recent YA thriller I read that I enjoyed was Blackbird by Anna Carey....So there you go :-)

5) What is your favorite horror film?

Frozen?

6) Which book release are you most looking forward to this Autumn?

Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry....Because (if you don't know why I suggest you look around my blog) Hardcore Katie McGarry fan right here.

7) Which film release are you most looking forward to this Autumn? 

Mockingjay Part 1
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8) Show three books that you are hoping to read this season. 

 

 

 

I tag YOU (if you want to do it)
If you do this tag, please come back and leave me a lin

September Real Book Challenge Wrap Up

Sign Up Post

And I am going for the 50+ - Real Book Queen/King 

 

I read 14 books in September and 10 were "Real Books"!

That brings my total so far of "Real Books" in 2014 is 113!

 

September Real Books:

Girl With Guitar (Book Review)

Girl with Guitar (Kylie Ryans #1)
Caisey Quinn
Published May 22nd 2013 by Createspace

Summary via Goodreads:
After Kylie’s dad dies in a freak accident, he leaves her with nothing other than her crazy step-mother, Darla, and the ability to play guitar. When Darla kicks Kylie out and she loses her job all in the same day, she hops a bus to Nashville determined to make her late father’s dreams come true. Waitressing and saving her pennies to record a demo, her big break comes when she’s asked to join a tour going down the tubes with once platinum album-selling country music superstar Trace Corbin. But touring with Trace is hardly a dream come true since he’s pretty much drinking his career down the drain. If Kylie can’t pull Trace out of his rut, he’ll pull her and her dreams down with him






Review:

Kylie wants to be a country singer....So after her Dad dies, she ends up moving to the capital of country music....Which is (can you guess?)

Nashville Tennessee. Remember the TV show Nashville? That Nashville.

Just a little while later, Kyle gets very lucky, and ends up getting offered a spot on a very popular country singers tour. (And this particular country singer happens to be a bad boy and happens to have a career that is going down the drain). So Kylie is hired on, and she starts with the whirlwind that is touring.

The concept of Kylie is pretty original, but at the same time....Unoriginal. (Girl is poor, girl meets rich guy, girl and guy fall in love, girl and guy have problems, (etc). But at the same time, the author makes it her own original story by adding the spin of country music.

If you like New Adult, you will probably enjoy this one. It was a fun, quick read that will leave you wanting more (in the terms of wanting a sequel)....And the main character is good. But I found it lacking (like most new adult books I might add) In the likeable guy department. I didn't like Trace. Hopefully I will like him more after reading the sequel.

How do you feel about cover changes?

How do you feel about cover changes?

In some ways cover changes can be awesome, if the first cover was particularly terrible....Or if the first cover just didn't make sense with the books content. But in other ways, cover changes can be disappointing and unpractical.

I keep track of the books I have read mostly by the cover of the book. I don't always remember the title (and I confess, sometimes I don't even remember the authors name) So the cover of the book is a huge way for me to remember if I have read it or not.

Sometimes the publishers change the cover of the book when they are releasing the paper back copy of the book......And sometimes they change it when they decide to change the rest of that books in that series covers.
One of these example is Shatter Me. Shatter Me is a case where the cover improved, but now....If you already had the Shatter Me original hard cover. Your hardcover will not match the rest of the series, which might be a problem for some people.

Before:                                           After:

 

 

And there is this one, that I actually have no clue when it happened. But the flower one is definitely prettier, although it reminds me a lot of Aprilynne's Wings series.

 

 

 

 

The Sky is Everywhere's paperback cover changed, and this one shouldn't affect anyone to bad because it is not part of a series....

 

The paperback cover of this one is adorable!

 

I like both of these covers, and I think that they both catch what the book is about.....But I think that I  like the second one better.

 

 

 One of my favorite "cover changes" that I have seen is this one......The paperback is still the "same" as the hardcover one, but the paperback is still a great change!

 

 

 

 

 

Sooooooo, I know I rambled a bit in this post....But tell me, did I make any sense?

Do you like cover changes? Or are you against them?