Asunder (Newsoul #2)

Goodreads Summary

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

In this second book in the Newsoul trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.

My Thoughts and Opinions
I can't get over how gorgeous these covers are. They are unlike anything else I've seen before and that is fitting since this series is unique too.

Asunder is all about Ana dealing with Sam's feelings, his past loves, Heart's hate of newsouls, and the truth about where everyone came from. This book was just as captivating as the first, but I found Ana's confusion over Sam's feelings to be a little annoying. The guy loves you! Just accept that.  I was glad that many of the questions that weren't answered in Incarnation were answered in Asunder. I'm interested in finding out where story will go next.

Incarnate (Newsoul #1)

Goodreads Summary 
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

What Did I Think?
This book was a little strange, but in a good way.  The world was beautifully written. I don't read too many fantasy books because they tend to be written for a younger audience, but this book really intrigued me.  As a non-religious person the idea of reincarnation has always interested me and this book reveals what could happen if you're the only one who hasn't reincarnated. Plus there are creatures that burned you when they touched you, dragons, and centaurs were mentioned. *Fingers crossed we meet some of those in the next two books*

The characters, although flat at times, were interesting. You can't help but feel bad for the new soul Ana. She has an abusive childhood and then feel putdown by everyone she meets as an adult. Sam is such a sweetheart. I hope his character sticks around because I really want to learn more about this musical prodigy. 

I am happy I bought this book and not just because the cover is gorgeous. I'm excited to see what happens next!
 

Outlander Trailer

I am so excited for this tv show! I love this book series. I think it could possible be the most underestimated book series out there. I hope more people discover the books because of the tv show. 

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THIS LOOKS SO GOOD!! I seriously can't wait. I don't even think I get the channel this is on, but I will watch it online if I have to.

Anyone else plan to tune in?
In the meantime check out the books by Diana Gabaldon.  

Book Haul

   I was at the mall today and stopped into Chapters...I may have bought a few things. :)

Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

Making Faces

Goodreads Summary 
Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.

Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.

My Thoughts
This book was a lot to take it. Fern is a shy girl who isn't the classic image of beauty and Ambrose (that name reminds me of that salad with the marshmallows...blech) has basically stepped off a romance novel. They are polar opposites, but Fern has had a crush for a really long time. We've all been there, right?  RIGHT?  After high school Ambrose convinces his best friends to go off to war with him and when he returns he isn't the same.

She was "ugly" in high school and he is "ugly" now. What will happen next? Well exactly what you would think. This book was a little too obvious at times. It had a few good lessons, but that's about it. These two didn't make me hot. They didn't keep me wondering about what will happen next. I just felt kinda blah.

The one shinning aspect of this book was Bailey. Bailey Sheen is Fern's cousin and best friend who just so happens to have Dushenne muscular dystrophy. He had so many hurdles to overcome, but always faced life with a smile.

Goodnight Bailey.

 
 If God makes all our faces, did he laugh when he made me?
 Does he make the legs that cannot walk and eyes that cannot see? 
Does he curl the hair upon my head 'til it rebels in wild defiance?
 Does he close the ears of the deaf man to make him more reliant? 
Is the way I look coincidence or just a twist of fate? 
If he made me this way, is it okay, to blame him for the things I hate?
 For the flaws that seem to worsen every time I see a mirror, 
For the ugliness I see in me, for the loathing and the fear. 
Does he sculpt us for his pleasure, for a reason I can't see?
 If God makes all our faces, did he laugh when he made me?

I am not religious, but I loved this piece of poetry Fern wrote. I think we can all relate. 

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

*Won this in a Goodreads giveaway. There's an honest review below.*

Goodreads Summary 
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.
 

My Thoughts
I fell in love with the title of this book. I thought it could be a good concept. A girl writing letters to all the guys she has loved and then dealing with the consequences. Sounds good, right? Yeah this didn't really measure up.

Lara Jean (hate that name!) is a whiny high school student who wrote letters to crushes in middle school and then one day finds out they've been sent out. These letters aren't even anything to be embarrassed about, but she is in high school so it was a big deal to her. Five letters are sent out and only two guys really care. One of the guys was her first kiss and the other is her older sister's boyfriend. *yawn*

I have to spend a few minutes talking about Lara Jean. This girl bugged me. She was one of the most immature female characters I have ever read about. Her nine year old sister was smarter than her. Kitty should have been twelve or thirteen instead of nine because her maturity level was so much higher than her sister's. Yes Lara Jean was inexperienced, but that wasn't even the problem. Her fear of driving didn't bother me either (I'm 26 and fear driving myself). I think it was just her personality that bugged me. Her Lara Jean-ness.

I don't really recommend this book. If you want a book about love and self discovery than read 13 Little Blue Envelops by Maureen Johnson or Just One Day by Gayle Foreman. I say skip this one.

This book comes out April 15th, 2014.

Divergent: The Movie

*Possible spoilers. Look out for asterisks.*

Divergent is one of the most anticipated movies of 2014 especially for book lovers like myself. I am a big fan of the books. I own them. I love them. Basically there was a lot for this movie to live up to, but I think it did a really good job.

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I loved the casting for this movie. I was hesitant when Shailene Woodley was cast, but she made an amazing Tris. She looked strong, but didn't come off as cocky. Her acting was pretty close to perfect. Then there's Theo James as Four. And yes I call him Four. I don't think I have earned the right to call him Tobias. Theo could not have played this part any better. He was mysterious, sexy, and protective all at once. I had only seen him in one other role and he seemed stiff, but not here. He played Four exactly as I saw him in book. 

The other characters were well cast too. Ansel Elgort was adorable as Caleb. I was only weirded out by the whole "he will be dating his sister in his next role" thing for a second before I forgot all about it. He has a boyish quality about him that is so important for Caleb to have. Plus I must say the running scenes were just adorable. Zoe Kravitz as Christina was great. Al...I was not expecting Al to be hot. Wasn't he fat in the book? Peter was played well. Psycho much? Perfect. Plus who knew Kate Winslet could play such a bitch? Another amazing job. I wish there were more scenes with Zeke and Uriah, but that's what Insurgent is for, right?

The plot did follow pretty well from what I can remember.

 **** SPOILERS****
 I did miss Edward getting stabbed in the eye. I think it helped portray Peter as an enemy. Also I think the 'army' scenes happened pretty quickly. I don't remember the book speeding up that fast towards the end. I don't think this affected the movie too negatively though. 

**SPOILERS OVER**

At the end of the day this was a really good movie. I will definitely be buying the dvd and keeping my fingers crossed that Insurgent and Allegiant get made as well. 

What did you all think? Let me know!