Gossamer by Renita Pizzitola Blog Tour & Review

A Lyrical Press Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Gossamer by Renita Pizzitola

Published by Lyrical Press Inc.

Format: eBook

Source: Given by publisher for an honest review and participation in blog tour.        

SUMMARY: 

Kyla Ashbury is nearing her eighteenth birthday when a mysterious boy appears at school. Her instant attraction to him inexplicably awakens something inside her and she discovers her true identity.

Now, armed with the knowledge of her past, she is forced to leave behind the life she has always known for a new one filled with temptation, faery charm and magic, and a future she wasn't prepared for.

Kyla is left with a difficult decision... but no matter which path she chooses, someone will get hurt.

Review: 

I always like a good faery book. Especially since lately I've only been reading sci-fi. I started this book with high hopes, however, this book fell a little short.

The writing itself, was a little amateur. The writing was wordy and choppy because the author used "it is" or "would have" instead of "it's" or "would've" every time, especially during dialogue. It made the characters sound stiff and gets rid of the emotion they were trying to express. I was a little surprised at the length of this book. I don't think I can really call it a novel because it was quite short. The beginning was dragged out too long, resulting in an abrupt ending that was a little frustrating, there was so much that was not resolved. I kept thinking "Is this really the end of the book? Will there be a second book?" Perhaps that was the author's intentions, to leave the reader with a cliffhanger forcing them to guess their own endings. I am disappointed at the plot, there was nothing really exciting about it. It was just another romance novel about a love triangle among two friends. It was a little like the book Angel Burn; guy saves girl from danger because of her abilities, and they end up falling in love. 

The beginning was like a typical cliche novel. Kylie, the damsel in distress, doesn't know she's half-faery until she meets new guy, Grant, who she falls in love with at first sight. However, the Queen B (and B not in the good way), Cerise, also wants Grant. They end up having a rivalry but of course Grant came for Kylie. And then Kylie's world turns upside down when Grant tells her she's half faery and she needs to go back to the faery world. I wasn't very fond of Kylie, she always wanted to cry every time she saw Grant or have some kind mixed emotions inside her, it was like she didn't have a backbone. 

Overall, this wasn't a memorable book because nothing exciting really happened. Although, I did enjoy the romance in it. I would save this book for a rainy day.

Rating: 3/5

Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Sipper Review

Xor: The Shape of Darkness by Moshe Sipper

Published by Amazon
Format: Paperback
Source: Given by author in exchange for honest review

SUMMARY:

 On his twelfth birthday Lewis Nash comes home from school to find that his house has blown up to smithereens, killing his father. Having lost his mother in an accident four years earlier, Lewis realizes he is now an orphan - but he has no time to dwell on it. The moment he gets off the school bus a fearsome wolf-man tries to grab him. The boy is saved in the nick of time by Master Long, who reveals to him that he's a Shaper from a place called Xor, which is being devoured by the Realm Pirates. Lewis learns that must do his utmost to become the powerful Shaper he was destined to be. 

Because, it would seem, he's the one and only chance Xor has.

Review: 

Lewis is brave, intelligent and way more mature than any 12 year old. But then again, he is Lord Shaper. You know he's a big deal if he has Lord beside his title. One with utmost power should reflect his power. As soon as he finds out his dad is dead, avoiding being kidnapped from an evil creature, he is snatched away into the world of Xor, where he finds out about his new identity and adjusts to the reality of being the only one that can save his planet. Meeting great friends and mentors, battling the darkness inside him, and faced with people that are deceitful, Lewis only has less than a week to save Xor before it's entirely consumed by darkness. A great protagonist to compliment this crazy roller coaster of a story. There were so many adventures and antagonists to keep the book from becoming boring. A lot of the times I found myself trying to solve problems along with Lewis and his friends.

However, a big flaw was the writing. I found it to be a little... simple. In my opinion this would be more of a novel for preteens instead of youth adults. I found this book to be quite repetitive, especially near the end. Lewis was so inquisitive it got to the point of a little annoying. The beginning could have been built up a little bit more as well, allow the readers time to adjust to the new setting.

The ending was I think what I enjoyed the most. It was unpredictable and left me feeling warm hearted. I would have this novel is considered both a hit and miss for me. But on the side note, if Xor turned into a movie I predict it'd be a big hit. I would definitely go see it if I was someone that hadn't read the book yet.

Rating: 3.5/5

In My Mailbox (15)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren

I hope it's not too late to do my IMM.

For Review:

The Dirt by Lori Culwell (I just got this today!)

Cyber Freak Debt by Stuart Wilson (eBook)

From NetGalley:

Demons (Seers #2) by Heather Frost

The Blue Door (The Threshold #1) by Christa Kinde 

Follow Friday (14)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

This week's feature is The Bookshelf Review.
Be sure to follow him!

Follow Friday`s question this week was :

Q. What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch.

A. My layout. That's my biggest problem with our blog to be honest. I think I should have started blogging when I had more knowledge with html etc. I still don't really know much about it, and I have yet to find someone who could help me out in that department haha. But other than that, I think it would've helped out blog a lot if before starting this blog we learned how to run a blog instead of winging it.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Review

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Series: The Hunger Games (#1)
Published by Scholastic Inc.

SUMMARY:

 Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before --- and survival, for here, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes as contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Review:

I would've read this book as soon as it came out but at that time, it didn't interest me in any way whatsoever. That was a HUGE mistake. However, I am finally able to join in on all the hype.

I am a huge fan of stories with make believe or futuristic worlds. The setting created in this story seemed so fascinating I was hooked before the real games even started. The build-up and introduction of characters created great excitement because it felt like I was right there observing and watching the events take place. All the describing and explaining at the beginning was within perfect pace. It did take half the book before the Games began but I didn't have to guess and interpret my way through the book.
The Games itself was epic, dangerous, adrenaline rushing, violent,  somewhat gruesome deaths filled with mischievous and devious schemes to get rid of their opponents. It's either kill or be killed.

Katniss was the perfect contestant. Edgy, bold, feisty, independent, clever, nimble, a hunter at heart. The supporting characters brought out Katniss' personality and survival instincts and proved to many how girls can be more tough than guys. Peeta and Katniss' completely opposite personalities showed how well these two would be as a couple. He melted Katniss's ice cold personality a little showing her more desirable and caring side.

Collins has written the perfect book that allows readers to get away from the real world, and escape into someone else's.

On a side note, right after I finished reading the book I went to watch the movie. The movie was a little disappointing but I did expect this, movies never really do the book justice. The arena and elements in it were different than what I had visualized in my mind, however, it was still an enjoyable movie.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Followers Mark

Your Average Bookworms has finally reached its 100 followers mark!
We started back in March of 2011. Back then, we never would've thought our blog would be as successful as it is now. Sure compared to other blogs we may not be that popular, but to us, it exceeded our expectations. We went into blogging purely out of our own enjoyment and wish to express our feelings.
We really hope to have many more followers in the future. We'll continue to do our best in providing quality reviews and a blog that anyone will love. :) Thank you guys so much for being such awesome followers.

YAB~

Follow Friday (13)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

This week's feature is Justin's Books & Life

Be sure to follow him!

Follow Friday's question this week was :

Q. Do you read one book at a time or do you switch back and forth between two or more?

A. I've been reading multiple books at the same time for quite some time now which is something I thought I'd never do. I don't know why I haven't tried it sooner because it helps me get through my list of books so much faster.

Teaser Tuesdays (21)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Any one can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL TO NOT INCLUDE ANY SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that the other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teaser!

This week I'm reading Oh.My.Gods by Tera Lynn Child

"A flash of light glows at my feet and next thing I know I'm pitching to the ground, face-first. Even as I tumble, I feel my feet fly out from under me and I know it's not another case of knotted shoelaces. No, Nicole just sprained my ankle for me. " -page 153

I'm still at the beginning of this book, I'm hoping it's as good as it sounds.

What's your teaser for this week??

The Book of Spells by Kate Brian Review

The Book of Spells by Kate Brian

Private #0.5

Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Summary: The year is 1915 when sixteen-year-old Eliza Williams arrives at the Billings School for Girls in Easton, Connecticut. Her parents expect her to learn the qualities of a graceful, dutiful wife. But Eliza and her housemates have a dangerous secret: They're witches. After finding a dusty, leather bound spell book, the Billings Girls form a secret coven. Bonded in sisterhood, they cast spells--cursing their headmistress with laryngitis, brewing potions to bolster their courage before dances, and conjuring beautiful dress out of old rags. The girls taste freedom and power for the first time, but what starts out as innocent fun turn sinister when one of the spells has an unexpected-and deadly - consequence. Magic could bring Eliza everything she's ever wanted... but it could also destroy everything she holds dear.

Review:

Kate Brian isn't one of my most favorite authors. Past books that I read from her would always leave me somewhat unsatisfied. The Book of Spells definitely changed my mind about Kate Brian. I loved every single thing about this book, from the plot, the setting, the climax, to the characters.

The vivid detailing of the behavior, setting, and fashion of 1915 mad this book so realistic and surreal. I had a sudden wish to travel back in time, if possible, to live like how they used to. Surely, it would've been beautiful.

I had a like hate relationship with Eliza. Although she was raised under a strict household; forbidden to act anything other than ladylike, robbed of the books she most enjoyed, the classics and books that men would enjoy, Eliza never tried to change who she was. Her adventurous and spontaneous side never failed to show when Eliza and her friends went on many "field trips" together. Along with her leadership skills, Eliza can be very stubborn. So stubborn it was frustrating.

After the last sentence of this book, I thought, 'this can't be the end, I don't want it to end' because of how fond I grew of this book. The Book of Spells was perfectly written, perfectly wicked, perfectly magical and perfectly mysterious. Among the many books I've read that involved witchcraft this was probably the best.

Rating: 5/5

Cover: 6/10

First Sentence: Even at the tender age of sixteen, Elizabeth Williams was the rare girl who knew her mind.

What the Author's Up To: Goodreads/Website/Facebook/Twitter/Myspace

Across the Universe by Beth Revis Review

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe #1

Published by Razorbill

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But of of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Review:

To be completely honest, I was not all that excited to read this book. I wasn't all that drawn in to the plot and it didn't seem like the genre of book I enjoy reading most of the time.

I particularly liked Amy because she was a brave, bold and fearless character. She was more of the heroine then the damsel in distress ; saving the male rather then being saved. Amy was "unplugged" 49 years before landing, and is forced to live with a society of people with no feelings, emotions and animal-like behavior. While she is slowly trying to adjust to her new life she tries to unravel the mystery of why she was unplugged. I was just as frustrated and angry as Amy was, reading into her thoughts and what she was seeing; abnormal behavior being done from mindless drones that lives on every word Eldest says. Elder was one of those rare male characters that I enjoyed. Although he was the soon to be leader, after Eldest, and was supposed to lead how Eldest led, he was bold like Amy and lived for justice instead of power, even if it meant defying the person that raised him since a child.

I thought it was a great idea to write the story in both Amy and Elder's point of views instead of only Amy's or Elder's or even third person narrative. It made the story that much better getting to know the characters better and their feelings. At some parts, like introducing the ship and the past slightly made me lose interest. I would put the book down, and when I felt like reading I would pick up this book with doubt. Although, I'm glad I got to finish it. Near the end it seemed like the puzzle was even more incomplete because of all the twists in the plot. It was definitely my favorite part because it made me excited and curious to figure out the puzzle.

Overall, I'm glad that I tried a new genre that I didn't expect to read... like ever. This was a more then satisfactory novel that left me pleasantly surprised.

Rating: 3.5/5

Cover: 7/10

First Sentence: Daddy said, " Let mom go first."

What the Author's Up To: Goodreads//Blog//Website//Twitter//Facebook//Tumblr

In My Mailbox (14)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren

Library:

Nevermore (Nevermore #1) by Kelly Creagh

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

The Last Little Blue Envelope (Little Blue Envelope #2) by Maureen Johnson

Popular by Alissa Grosso

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) by Kiersten White

Another Faust (Another #1) by Daniel & Dina Nayeri

Oh. My. Gods (Oh. My. Gods #1) by Tera Lynn Child

Wondrous Strange (Wondrous Strange #1) by Lesley Livingston

The Book of Spells (Private #0.5) by Kate Brian

Wicked (Pretty Little Liars #5) by Sara Shepard

The Iron Witch (The Iron Witch #1) by Karen Mahoney

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth #1) by Stacey Kade

What did you get in your mailbox?

Radiance by Alyson Noel Review

Radiance by Alyson Noel

Riley Bloom #1

Release Date: August 31, 2010

Published by: Square Fish

Format: Paperback, 183 pages

Summary: Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife- a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she's summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who's definitely hiding something. They return to eath together for Riley's first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley...

Review:

•I was really excited to read this book because I always loved reading people going on missions and trying to solve things.

•The environment and surroundings was described vividly. I felt like I was right there with Riley.

•I didn't really like Riley's personality because she was really stuck up and cocky. I sometimes wanted to slap her and remind her that the world didn't revolve around her.

•Some minor things... in a way... it was a little hard to believe that you were reading into Riley's thoughts because of the use of big vocabulary. Honestly, you're not gonna find an eleven year old using words used by teachers.

• I was a little disappointed that their mission was resolved so quickly because of a long introduction to the book. The conclusion to Riley's mission was very rushed and hard to believe. There were gaps in between that weren't filled because the story had to conclude.

•Really interested to read the second book of the Riley Bloom series. I wonder what's going to happen next... Perhaps Riley changes into a more likable character...

• This book had fewer pages from the books I normally read, but I liked that I could finish this quickly. Sometimes it's good to read a short book when you're often reading books with 30+ chapters.

• I recommend checking this book out from the library first before you make a decision to purchase it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Cover: 8/10

First Sentence: Most people think that death is the end.

What the Author's Up To: Goodreads//Blog//Facebook//Twitter//Myspace

Follow Friday (12)

Follow Friday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Parajunkee and AlisonCanRead.


This week's feature is Peggy at Pawing Through Books
Be sure to follow her!!
Follow Friday's question this week is: Q. Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many? A. Around 32. I have some unread library books, some eBooks and majority books from my shelf. I always make my library books first in line to read because they have a due date... Hehe. I always tell myself that I should start reading the books on my shelf but I just never came around to it.

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors REVIEW

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors

Published July 21st, 2009 by Walker & Company

Format: Hardcover, 276 pages

Source: Library

Summary: From the author of Saving Juliet comes a romantic comedy that is good to the last drop. When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother's coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down. Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won't leave until he can reward Katrina's selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be...

Review:

I've gotta say, this book definitely surprised me... I didn't expect I would love this book so much. But this novel really touched me in a way that made my heart warm every time I read those touching moments... kinda like when you're drinking coffee...

Katrina is an average girl in high school, going through life like it's a routine... until she starts to learn more about Malcolm. Things start to change, in ways she never thought possible. Especially falling in love with an angel that might have feelings for her. Even though clues that Malcolm was an angel were in front of her face, Katrina still couldn't believe that Malcolm was an angel. How could she? The chances of getting to see an angel on earth are slim. Throughout the book, while you were reading you were also watching Katrina grow and mature from the beginning of the book. At the beginning, she was more of a shadow of her friends then a leader, but when she went through so many traumatic experiences it made her stronger which made her realize what she truly wanted and her ambition, and that's what made her become a great leader and problem solver. I really liked Malcolm's personality, although I suppose I was meant to, since he is an angel. He was a funny character, since he was an angel, it was hard to him to come down to earth to familiarize himself with our habits and... diet. And especially because he could get away with a lot of the things normal people couldn't.

In the beginning this didn't really spark my interests because there wasn't anything that caught my attention. A couple of chapters in, things really started to get interesting. For me, the ending was definitely unpredictable. I expected it to end with what might have been the obvious answer; angel's have to leave as soon as they're finished with their business. Then BAM! a twist! A surprising yet delightful twist! When I thought the book would end with a sad ending, I was a little sad myself, and was hoping there might be a sequel to Coffeehouse Angel. But because of the happy ending, I was content and satisfied and glad it ended the way it did.

Rating: 5/5

Cover: 5/10

First Sentence: The first time I saw him, he was lying in the alley behind my grandmother's coffeehouse.

What the Author's Up To: Goodreads//Website