Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

My Top Ten Characters I'd Switch Places With for 24 Hours are :

1. Cat Crawfield

Why? A few reasons. The first one is Bones, then Cat is one kick-ass half-vampire, then there's Bones, and I love her as a character, and yeah, there's Bones, Bones, Bones - I love Bones!!!

2. Katherine "Kitty" Katt (Martini)

Why? She's also a kick-ass heroine, except she kicks aliens' butts, and of course there's Jeff Martini, I love him so much, that's why!!!

 3. Margaret Hale (Thornton)

Why? One reason: John Thornton. But I'd like to be her for 24 hours after she married him :) These are characters from Elizabeth Gaskell's wonderful novel North & South.

4. A student at Hogwarts

If I can have 24 hours in this world, then I'd love to be a first-year on the first day of the school year at Hogwarts! Just imagine, travelling with the Hogwarts Express, the sorting ceremony, etc... All so amazing & it's happening in less then 24 hours :)

  5. Celia or Poppet

Why? Well, it can be Celia or Poppet, or even any character that will know how & visit all the magical places in The Night Circus! I keep wishing it existed for real!!!

6. A companion to the Doctor

A companion to the 10th or the 11th Doctor, just imagine flying around through time & space in the TARDIS :)

7. Elizabeth Bennet (Darcy)

Why? Do you even have to ask? Of course I'd like to be Lizzie after she married Mr. Darcy :)

8. Verity Price

I'd love to spent 24 hours as Verity in her world :) and this time the reason isn't in any way because I want to jump someone's bones ;) although when i think about it, I wouldn't say no to Dominic lol

9. Sophie Hatter

Why? Because of the amazing Howl, and they're just so sweet together, and I'd love to take Sophie's place for 24 hours, and of course, Howl's Moving Castle is another reason lol

10. Kaylee Cavanaugh  

To be honest, after everything Kaylee's been through, I wouldn't really want to be in her shoes, but for only 24 hours? Sure! I'll just lock myself with Tod in his place & don't come out for 24 hours, and yeah, the only reason I'd like to be her is spending some quality time with Tod ;)

Title: Earth Unaware

Auhors: Orson Scott Card & Aaron Johnston

Series: The First Formic War #1

Publisher: Tor/Forge

Imprint: Tor Books

Publication date: July 17th, 2012

ISBN: 9780765329042

Pages: 368

(Book read from July 27th to July 29th, 2012, from an e-copy acquired through NetGalley from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.) 

My rating: 4.5 of 5 

 

Summary:

Before Ender Wiggin was born, before the Battle School was built, the aliens brought war to Earth.

The mining ship El Cavador is far out from Earth, in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. Other mining ships, and the families that live on them, are few and far between this far out. So when El Cavador’s telescopes pick up a fast-moving object coming in-system, it’s hard to know what to make of it. It’s massive and moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

El Cavador has other problems. Their systems are old and failing. The family is getting too big for the ship. There are claim-jumping corporate ships bringing Asteroid Belt tactics to the Kuiper Belt. Worrying about a distant object that might or might not be an alien ship seems…not important.

They're wrong. It's the most important thing that has happened to the human race in a million years. The first Formic War is about to begin.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

I've read only Ender's Game so far a few years ago, and I thought it was amazing & definitely one of my fav books, but since then I still haven't gotten around to reading the rest of the books in both Ender Saga & his Shadow Saga series, although I've been planning to. So, when I saw this one, I knew I had to read it.

I loved Earth Unaware. The world-building was great, with how everything works in the world of the free miners, and their society, following through 17-year old Victor on El Cavador. Two 3rds of this book was from Victor's PoV, the rest was alternating between Lem Jukes, Captain Wit O'Toole, and in the last 3rd of the book between lots of other secondary characters. That was necessary & I didn't mind, because it was necessary, because this is the first book about how the First Formic War started, and their first contact with the aliens.  

I loved Victor as a character. He's a mechanic, and quite brilliant & innovative. I actually loved all the characters on El Cavador, they were all so amazing: Mono, Edimar, Marco, Rena, etc...  

The writing of course is really good, I connected with most of the characters. I have to say that this book was also really sad, it made me cry so many times, which was so unexpected. I knew that lots of the characters will die, it's about war after all, and all the deaths made me at least teary-eyed, but I got really mad about one character especially, why did that one have to be killed? I loved this book, and I thought I'll give it 5 stars, but when that happened, I was so mad (still am) and I was planning to give it 4 stars, but in the end I decided for a rating of 4.5 - a compromise.    

I also have to say that knowing something about the aliens from Ender's Game, it made me a little sad when I met them. 

Anyway, I won't go into more details about this book, only that it's amazing, and it reminded me how much I love sci-fi, and I highly recommend it & I can't wait for the next book to be published, I'm definitely looking forward to it. In the meantime I'll have to go through the Ender Wiggin & Ender's Shadow series :) I think it's time.

   

Challenges:

100+ Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2012

1st in a Series Challenge 2012

2012 Science Fiction Reader Challenge
The All Male Review Challenge

Title: When We Touch

Auhors: Brenda Novak

Series: Whiskey Creek #0.5

Publisher: Harlequin

Imprint: HarlequinMIRA

Publication date: July 31st, 2012

ISBN: 9781426875793

(Novella read on July 2oth, 2012, from an e-copy acquired through NetGalley from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.) 

My rating: 4 of 5 

 

Summary:

 

You’re invited to a wedding in Whiskey Creek, Heart of the Gold Country.

Unfortunately, it’s the wrong wedding. Olivia Arnold is arranging the festivities—and it’s the hardest thing she’s ever done. Because she should be marrying Kyle Houseman. They were together for more than a year…. But her jealous sister, Noelle, stole him away—and now she’s pregnant.

All their friends in Whiskey Creek know as well as Olivia does that Kyle’s making a mistake. His stepbrother, Brandon, knows it, too. But Kyle’s determined to go through with it, for his child’s sake.

Olivia’s devastated, but surprisingly Brandon—the black sheep of the family—is there to provide comfort and consolation. The intensity between them, both physical and emotional, shows Olivia that maybe Kyle wasn’t the right man for her…

But is Brandon?

 

My Thoughts on the Novella:

 

Although Brenda Novak has been on my author-to-try list for a long time now, until now I hadn't read anything from her, and now I know that I'll definitely read more. I enjoyed a lot this prequel novella to her new Whiskey Creek series, and I'm definitely looking forward to the first book in this series When Lightning Strikes.

I'm definitely not a fan of stealing your sibling's boyfriend, I mean seriously, what's wrong with Noelle? I really, really disliked her. And I thought Kyle was an idiot - sleeping with your ex-girlfriend's sister, and so soon? And you're technically on a break, and you love her & want her back, and then you go & sleep with her sister?! Seriously? Noelle is so selfish & spoiled, and although Kyle was far from innocent in that whole thing, I really felt sorry for him in the end. In the end he redeemed himself & he's not a bad guy, and decided to do the right thing, both for his upcoming baby & for Brandon & Olivia. Poor, poor Kyle, to be stuck with someone like Noelle. I know this might be awful of me, but I wish he'll get a full-length book of his own with another woman some time later - I know, that's awful, but I can't see their marriage being successful... 

But, it was better that this happened, at least for Olivia & Brandon, because they definitely belong together. They've been friends for years, and I liked them both as characters,  especially Brandon, he was so amazing & yummy, and they were amazing together, with great chemistry between them :) 

So, I enjoyed this story a lot, it was fun & sweet & romantic & sexy, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading Gail's story, and soon, so I recommend this novella a lot! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is being hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

This is a great weekly event where everyone can keep track of the books finished last week & the books planning to read this week!

 

 

What did I read last week?

I didn't read a lot last week. I finished re-reading Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman on Monday & I started Rachel Vincent's Before I Wake on Monday, but after that I've been too busy & haven't read anything for a few days, but later I started Earth Unaware & finished both Before I Wake (my review) & Earth Unaware & yeah, I loved all of these books & I highly recommend them!

 

What I'll be reading this week?

No idea.  Dust Girl & Lies Beneath are 2 potential reads, but I don't know how much time I'll have to read this week, but I'll try to squeeze in some here & there.

Happy reading everyone & have a great week!

Title: Before I Wake

Author: Rachel Vincent

Series: Soul Screamers #6

My rating: 5 of 5

 

 

(book read from July 23rd to July 29th, 2012)

 

WARNING:  

IF you haven't read book #5 If I Die, DON'T READ the summary below or the review, because there are major spoilers for the series.

Summary:

I died on a Thursday - killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...   

Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...

My Thoughts on the Book:

If you still haven't tried the Soul Screamers series, what are you waiting for? You have to read it! I love the series so much, one of those that gets under your skin (unexpectedly) and you want more & more :)   

In Before I Wake, we see how Kaylee is coping with being dead, but undead. She doesn't sleep anymore, and when she's alone, she's feeling so alone & loses her will to live. That was done great (which was expected, Rachel Vincent is great author), and that also shows how the reapers like Tod & the other undead similar to him & like Kaylee, can & are slowly losing their humanity.  

Other quite important part of the story is Tod & Kaylee as a couple & their realtionship. Yeah, I love them as a couple so much (one of my fav couples in books) & Tod is such an amazing character & so swoon-worthy - yeah, I've probably said that in my previous Soul Screamers reviews, but it should be repeated :) I loved their romance & interactions & dialogues. They were so sweet & romantic & when I think about them, I get smile on my face every time :) I loved it, loved it, loved it & I love them, love them, love them. They're perfect for each other! 

 

I did feel sorry for Nash. I still really like him, and yeah, Sabine is there for him, and yeah, he loves her, but he still loves Kaylee, too, and he's been hurt so much by both Kaylee & Tod, so I can understand him, but slowly he started to turn around, and hopefully he'll get over it soon & moves on completely, although yeah, he's trying. I've always loved the brotherly interactions between him & Tod, and later in the book we do get that, and it reminded me so much on their interactions in the first book. 

Now for the other characters - there weren't a lot new characters, most of them were characters we already knew & know well & we love. All of these characters (Alec, Emma, Sabine, Harmony, Kaylee's dad & uncle, even Sophie) have sneaked inside my heart & I can't help but feel for everything that has happened before & is happening in Before I Wake. 

I won't go into details of the storyline, it was another great story, some things I saw coming, some I didn't, but I don't want to include spoilers, but I cried on the part with Alec, it was surprising & I don't know how I didn't saw it coming, and I'm still so sad. 

Also, I started to feel so sorry for Emma in this book, even before everything that happened in this book, I just had a feeling everything she'd been through before, it's not over, and it will get worse for her. When I realised that while I was reading this book, I found myself surprised, because she's a secondary character & she's a human, so when I started the series months ago & I met Emma for the first time, I definitely wasn't expecting all that happened to her after My Soul to Take, so poor Emma... 

Now, Avari - he must be one of the most evil characters in the YA bookish world & he's a psycho genius, too. So, yeah, you gotta love to hate him & I can't wait to see how he'll get what he deserves, he & all his hellions "friends". As for Thane, I wasn't surprised, because of the novella Never to Sleep, I had a feeling how he's story will go. 

  

As with the previous books, Before I Wake was a fast read (I would've read it in a day or two, but I hadn't had a lot of time for reading this week), that also made me laugh & made me cry, and made me swoon, and there was also a mystery, romance, lots of twists & turns, great writing style, and it was heart-breaking, and it kept me turning the pages until early in the morning hours, not being able to stop reading & put it down until I finished it. 

Another thing I really loved was the extra short story A Day in the Afterlife of Tod, which is set before If I Die & I loved it so much, it was fun & sad, and yeah, Tod got his miracle. I love Rachel Vincent!!!     

Before I Wake is another amazing addition to the Soul Screamers series, so if you're a fan of the series, you don't want to miss it (and you probably won't). I can't wait for the last book With All My Soul next year, and now we know which book will be one of my most expected in 2013! 

Challenges:

2012 Books Won Challenge 

Before I Wake Mini-Reading Challenge

2012 YA Mythology Challenge

100+ Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2012

Cover Characteristic is a meme hosted by Lu a.k.a The Muggle @ A Muggle's Magical Book Blog!

The goal of this meme is to post your favorite 5 book covers with the week's characteristic.

This week's characterictic: Beach! 

If you'd like to participate in this meme, go HERE!

 

My Favorite 5 Book Covers on a Beach are:

 #5 - Forever Summer

 

 #4 - Someone Like You

 

 

 #3 - Finding Perfect

 

 #2 - Invincible Summer

 #1 - The Summer of Skinny Dipping

 

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly feature with a different bookish theme hosted by Larissa at her blog Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life. 

This week's theme is Fictional Worlds You'd Love to Live in. 

You can join HERE!

 

So, My Top 5 Fictional Worlds I'd Love to Live in are:

 #5 - The world where The Night Circus exists & I can visit it over & over again :)

#4 - A world where The OASIS from Ernest Cline's Ready Player One exists

 

 #3 - The world where Time Lords exist, just imagine living on Gallifrey ;) or even better, living with The Doctor on his TARDIS & travelling everywhere :)

 

 #2 - Kitty & Jeff's World from Gini Koch's Katherine "Kitty" Katt series 

 

 #1 - The Wizarding World in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

Title: Of Poseidon

Author: Anna Banks

Series: Of Poseidon #1

My rating: 4.5 of 5

Summary:

Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .

Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.

My Thoughts on the Book:

Overall, I loved Of Poseidon. I was expecting a fun read, and I definitely got it :) I won't go into spoilers, but the story goes like this: Emma & her best friend Chloe (and Chloe's parents) are in Florida for the summer, and there she meets Galen & his sister Rayna. Then something happens, and she goes home, so Galen enrolls in her school to see if she really has the gift of Poseidon. What exactly that means? I'm not telling you :)   

I'm not spoiling the story any more, but they start to hang out & work on Emma's "skills", and of course there's that undeniable chemistry between Emma & Galen. I'll say that the story was a little predictable, I realised early on where it was going, but it's only the first book, and it was predictable in a good way, so I enjoyed the journey a lot.

Also, all the characters were really likable, and my favourite without a doubt was Toraf, Galen's best friend. My second favourite character - Rayna. Toraf is actually after Rayna, and although he requested for permission to marry her from her older brother Grom (and he allowed), and because of that she acted like she hates him now, I didn't mind that, because it was obvious that she feels the same for him, so I loved seeing their banter.  

So, this book is filled with lots of humor & fun dialogues, and it made me laugh so many times. So, yeah, I loved the writing style, Anna Banks has written really good debut, with interesting storyline, and I wouldn't love it as much if it wasn't for her fun writing style. Also, I loved the fact that she used the word Syrena for the mer-people, especially because in my country our word for mermaid is syrena, so that fact brought a smile to my face. I enjoyed the interactions between all the characters, as well as between Emma & Galen, and as I said I especially loved the ones between Rayna & Toraf. So, this book was lots of fun, and a fast read & I can't wait for the sequel. 

So, if you're up to a fun summer read with interesting take on mermaids & some of the greek mythology, I recommend this book a lot.

Challenges:

2012 Books Won Challenge 

Debut Author Challenge 2012

1st in a Series Challenge 2012

2012 YA Mythology Challenge

100+ Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2012

ABC Challenge 2012 

 The All Male Review Challenge