Top Ten Tuesday: Books When I Need Something Light and Fun

The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook - This book is so full of shenanigans and letting loose! 

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White - Evie is such a fun narrator and I love all the different paranormal creatures.

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade - Alona is bitchy and full of herself to the point of humor. Will has that whole "let the world burn" attitude. An unlikely romance blooms between 2 flippant characters creating an altogether fun read.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Paris atmosphere, cute boys...YUM! This book is super cute and fluffy.

The Collector by Victoria Scott - Dante's voice is definitely something you don't find every day in YA. It was a fun read.

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill - London. A hunt for a mystery boy. With a hot boy at her side. It's one awesome adventure!

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - Using magic to fight evil paranormal creatures with a side of sarcasm. All of Hawkins's books are quick, exciting reads!

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger - Power to women!

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally - I love the concept of this book: a team full of awesome, funny football guys and one girl just trying to figure things out among them. This book is really fun.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - This book may not necessarily be "light" but it is an interesting story without a whole lot of depth and very easy to lose yourself in.

Book Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

The Collector by Victoria Scott

Series: Dante Walker #1

Genre: YA Paranormal

Publication Date: March 25, 2013

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Format: PDF

Pages: 352

Source: Received for review from publisher on NetGalley

He makes good girls...bad. 
Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried. (Summary from Goodreads.com)

I am so glad that I got approved for this title on NetGalley because, despite how much I wanted to read this, I know I probably would not have bought it. And then I would be missing out on a worthy book! The Collector is a wildly entertaining and addictive read. 

When the first line of a book's synopsis says that the main character is "flippin' awesome," there is a lot of pressure for the author to deliver such a promise. So is Dante flippin' awesome? Well, he's different, that's for sure. He's got a very distinct voice. A lot of people claim he borders on the "Bad Boy who is legitimately just a Big Fat Jerk." And he sort of does. He has some thoughts that toe the line of cruel, but such is life. People think mean things until they're proven otherwise. Sure he is arrogant a selfish, but he grows and becomes a better person and whatnot, so it's all good. What really got me about his character is that sometimes the slang and whatnot got really cheesy. Like, okay, you use the term "fo shizzle" jokingly--hah, you're quirky. You use the word "whatev" multiple times--yeah, no, that's not okay. He was an interesting mind to be inside of, but there were a few times when I was rolling my eyes. Other than that, he's pretty cool. He has a thing for his red Chuck Taylors and just the color red in general. He had a lot of quirks about him that made him seem pretty authentic. I wasn't necessarily swooning over him, but I did enjoy his character. 

Then there is Charlie, who is not the most attractive thing the world has ever seen. But she is, like, super good. So good, that the Devil himself wants to stop her before she makes the entire world good and peaceful or whatever. She's overly trusting, very loyal, and endlessly kind. She is the kind of girl I was rooting for from the beginning. She's not my favorite character in the entire world, but she makes reading The Collector a more enjoyable experience. The romance between Charlie and Dante slowly builds up before Dante realizes what is happening and then explodes, and becomes a little much. Either way, it was cute because in the beginning Dante makes it clear that such an idea would be absolutely absurd. I was rooting for them the whole time and really liked them together. Beside Charlie, you can usually find Annabelle and Blue, her 2 best friends. I liked Annabelle from the beginning because, as Dante said when he met her, she has spunk. Blue was just kind of there to me for a while, but by the end, I respected, and even liked, his character. Max, Dante's best friend, is probz my favorite character. He's just weird, and a loyal companion to Dante. Finally, there is Valery, who fights for the good side. I know I don't dislike her, but whether I like her or not is still on the table. 

I really liked the idea behind this book, but I don't feel like it was fleshed out as well as it could have been. I just didn't believe everything Scott was feeding us. The pacing was pretty stinkin' good. I mean, the book was always interesting. Like I said in the beginning, this book was majorly entertaining and addictive. I was never bored reading this, but there were parts where I would have liked a little more stuff to, I don't know, happen. I wanted more angst and dramatic emotional turmoil. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I don't know necessarily that it will stay with me forever and that I'll be gushing about it for years to come, but it was a fun ride I'd highly suggest taking. I will definitely be awaiting more Dante Walker. 

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Finished: 

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins - Gabbi

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins - Gabbi

The Collector by Victoria Scott - Gabbi

Currently Reading: 

That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard - Gabbi

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton - Gabbi

Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza - Charlotte

Next In Line: 

The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton - Gabbi

Practically Peeing: The Boy's POV Edition

I know, what a weird post title! But there's a lot of times when I'm excited for a book I say I'm peeing my pants for it. So "Practically Peeing" is a feature sort of like Waiting on Wednesday or On My Wishlist or Books  To Pine For where I showcase books that I realllllllly want to read. They might already be released, they might be a year away, they might be coming out next month! Either way, I can guarantee, I really want to read them.

I've always had a thing for books told in a guy's perspective. It's a lot different than reading a book told from a girl's point of view. Nowadays, the number of books written in a male voice is increasing, however that doesn't mean that they are all good. Here are some of the books I want to read told from a boy's point of view. 

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey
September 8, 2012

Flux

Braden was born with witch eyes: the ability to see the world as it truly is: a blinding explosion of memories, darkness, and magic. The power enables Braden to see through spells and lies, but at the cost of horrible pain.

After a terrifying vision reveals imminent danger for the uncle who raised and instructed him, Braden retreats to Belle Dam, an old city divided by two feuding witch dynasties. As rival family heads Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe desperately try to use Braden's powers to unlock Belle Dam's secrets, Braden vows never to become their sacrificial pawn. But everything changes when Braden learns that Jason is his father--and Trey, the enigmatic guy he's falling for, is Catherine's son.

To stop an insidious dark magic from consuming the town, Braden must master his gift—and risk losing the one he loves.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
August 30, 2011

Tor Teen

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

Tempest by Julie Cross
January 17, 2012

St. Martin's Griffin

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

What a Boy Wants by Nyrae Dawn
April 6, 2012

Courtesy of watching his mom’s relationships, Sebastian Hawkins knows what girls need to do to get a guy. He has what he considers a PHD in hooking up. When he needs extra cash for a car, Sebastian starts up an online venture as The Hook-up Doctor, to anonymously help girls land the guy of their dreams. Of course, his services don’t offer a happily-ever-after guarantee. He’s seen firsthand getting together never means staying together.

And then he falls in love…
With the last girl he would expect…
Totally not in his game plan.

Suddenly, Sebastian finds himself muddled in the game he’s always prided himself on. He can’t even pick up girls at parties anymore! Why would anyone want to be in love when it turns you into a stuttering, screwed-up, mess with really lame stalker tendencies? Stalking? Totally not his gig.

But the Hook-up Doctor won’t let himself go down easily. He’s always known how to give a girl what she wants and now it’s time to figure out what a boy wants… and he definitely plans on getting it.

The Collector by Victoria Scott
March 2013

Entangled Teen

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions deeply buried.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
April 3, 2012

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

What if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad?

Jasper (Jazz) Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminal's point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?