Once Upon a Blog Hop - Fantasy Week!

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It's October! Bree from The Magic Attic and I have decided to host giveaways all through this month, and you can join us! The 'Once Upon a Blog Hop' will feature four weeks, and four genres. Each week, we'll giveaway a set of books on our blogs, and discuss reads within that genre. The titles will depend on the genre of that week.

Week one, which will last from October 3-9 is reserved for things in the Fantasy genre (paranormal, urban fantasy, supernatural, etc included). Week two, which lasts from October 10-16 is Steampunk week. Week three, which lasts from October 17-23, is for Contemporary, and Week four, which is October 24-30, is a week for Dystopia.

This week, week one, is for books in the fantasy genre. 

So what are some of your favorite books within the fantasy genre? Series?

What are some exciting upcoming titles in the fantasy genre? 

What are some titles within this genre that you love, and doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves?

Books in the fantasy genre that you want to read, but never get around to reading?

Share them with us! Write a blog post/Facebook post/Goodreads note/etc sharing some of your favorite/most highly anticipating titles within the fantasy genre, and attach our Once Upon a Blog Hop Week One: Fantasy banner to it. Leave a link below in the comments anytime during this week to share it with your fellow bookworms :)

I'm totally late for posting this, but here are my answers:

So what are some of your favorite books within the fantasy genre? Series?

LALALALA. I could go on and on about this because I LOVE fantasy. That's my main genre, man. But, I will give a few of my faves: Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer, Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick. Oh god there's so many more. I'd also like to highlight that I absolutely ADORED Witchlanders by Lena Coakley, and the first book in Heather Brewer's new series, First Kill.

What are some exciting upcoming titles in the fantasy genre? 

I'm sooo excited for Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick which comes out on the fourth of this month. Also, Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl which comes out the 18th of this month. Another one I'm reallly looking forward to is Incarnate by Jodi Meadows. The Calling by Kelley Armstrong, that's definitely another one. City of Lost souls by Cassandra Clare. The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead. TONS!

What are some titles within this genre that you love, and doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves?

Oh gosh. There are a ton, actually. A lot of books receive a whole lot of attention on blogs but out in the real world of high school and whatnot, they don't get nearly enough. Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer. Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White. Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Angelfire series by Courtney Allison Moulton. There are also a bunch of indie books that deserve much more attention.

Books in the fantasy genre that you want to read, but never get around to reading?

Once again, TONS! Jeeze Bree, these questions are tough! The Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace. A bunch of new releases as well.

Well, those are my answers. What about yours? If you did a post, make sure to leave the link so that me and the other participants can take a gander!

And of course, enter the giveaway:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver (REVIEW)

Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

Genre: YA Dystopian - Publisher: HarperTeen - Publication Date: February 1, 2011 - Format: Hardcover - Pages: 441 - Source: Received as a gift (At Random)

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love. (Goodreads.com)

My experience with Delirium was kind of like eating chocolate cake. It's delicious and while you're eating it, you think, well this might be the most wonderful thing I've ever eaten. You want to devour the whole thing, but savor each fabulous bite. You hope you never run out of the chocolate cake. But the thing is, Delirium trumps that chocolate cake by like three trillion. It's almost hard for me to sit here and write a review, because I feel like I could never do this book justice no matter how hard I try.

If I had only a limited amount of words I could use to describe this book (and thank the heavens I don't!), I'd have to say my top choices would be heart-breaking and tantalizing. Everything about this novel is utterly heart-breaking and gut-wrenching. The world, the belief systems, the relationships. Everything. Sometimes I wanted to step inside of the novel and shake some SENSE into the people. This story was tantalizing because even when there were the happiest scenes, I could still feel the enormous pressure of impending doom pressing down on the characters.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. I had never once read a bad review of it, and I was agonizingly desperate to read it. The first 20 pages or so were kind of slow and I thought, Oh no. This is going to be just like Matched by Ally Condie. But then it picked up and I couldn't stop reading. I seriously could not. Oliver's writing is absolutely stunning and vivid and all together awe-inspiring. I get chills just thinking about it. I felt every emotion deep in my gut and it was so beautiful and simultaneously terrifying because I would never want to go through what Lena goes through.

This book isn't action-packed or particularly fast-paced, but it is still exciting. Gorgeous. Moving. It made me feel, made me think, made laugh, made me cry, made me shake my head, made me whoop with excitement. It got my hopes up, it tore me to pieces.  

I'm hesitant to say that this is one of the best books I've read in 2011, but I'm pretty sure it fits. I know that this is a book I will never forget, a book that I will hold dear to me for a long time. A book that I will never get tired of reading. There are twists and turns and trouble and bittersweet moments.

This book shows that love can make people better, braver, stronger. It shows that love can make people blind and stupid while making everything clear and making people smarter at the same time. People can act foolishly and admirably. It can make people crazy while being the only thing that keeps them sane. Love is a risk, and this book proves that it is a risk worth taking.

Lena is strong and courageous, even when she doesn't realize it. Alex is...Alex is marvelous. Absolutely marvelous. No words can describe how much I fell in love with him throughout this novel. Hana and Gracie. Carol Rachel. They all brought something unique and special to the table that I can't even put into words.

Now, I'll say this: The last two pages of the book were emotionally the most difficult thing I have ever read. I sobbed and sniffled and it took me ten minutes to finish those last two pages because I couldn't read past my tears. Then, I read the summary for Pandemonium, the sequel, and I cried even harder. This book haunts me. I went to sleep thinking about it, I woke up thinking about it. I will be buying Pandemonium the day it is released. I can't even do a 'Reasons I liked it' section for this book, because I loved every little bit of it. Everything. This book has over 400 pages and I read it in less than twelve hours.

If you even came remotely close to enjoying...

If I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Matched by Ally Condie

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Divergent by Veronica Roth

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman

Then you will LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE Delirium.

Amazon - Kindle - B&N - Nook - Indiebound - Book Depository

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren!

 

I didn't get a lot this week (which is definitely a GOOD thing), but the books I did get are all super awesome and I am excited for all of them!

 

 

The Academy (After Life) by T.P. Boje (Received from author)

Diary of a Part-Time Ghost by Vered Ehsani (Received from author)

Crave by Melissa Darnell (Received eARC from NetGalley)

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

A Shade bookmark signed by Jeri Smith-Ready

And a cute business card.

A GINORMOUS thanks goes out to http://lratrandom.blogspot.com/ for giving this to me for a RAK. Delirium was my number one most wanted book (Review coming tomorrow), and when she emailed me and asked for my address, I sort of died. She also included the signed bookmark which was an awesomely unexpected treat!

On My Wishlist (5)

On my wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City every Saturday.

If you would like to participate or learn more about it, click HERE

My wishlist:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Release date: September 27, 2011

I've heard sooo many wonderful things about this book. Like, it's rediculous. And then, seeing the book trailer for it...I just want this book sooo bad!

Fateful by Claudia Gray
Release date: September 13, 2011

I love the Titanic. The movie, the real ship. Everything about it just fascinates me. Add paranormal aspects and BAM. I've wanted to read this book since I figured out what it was about.

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade
Release date: Jude 29, 2010

I think this book seems fun and cute. Every review that I've read for it says good things, and I totally want to get my hands on it.

So, that's what's on my wishlist. What's on yours?

October BOM.COM

BOM.COM is not a website. Well, actually, it might be. I don't know. You can check if you want, but that's not what it is over here at BookBreather.

BOM.COM is a new feature on the blog that means Book of the Month . Cover of the Month. Basically, I pick two books that are coming out this month. One for which I am looking the most forward to, and the other one is a book that I think has the prettiest cover!

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Publication date: October 18, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

 

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

 

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

There are multiple reasons that I selected BEAUTIFUL CHAOS as my October Book of the Month, many of which I cannot even put into words. When I bought BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, the first book in the Caster Chronicles, I bought it because it was on sale and I had a limited amount of money left on my Barnes and Noble gift certificate. What I didn't expect was to fall in love with the intricate world of Casters, tunnels, and southern history. These two ladies know how to write and the dark tone and originality of their stories immediately captured me. I picked this book for everything that it is. This series has been fantastic so far and I have no doubt that these ladies will exceed my expectations with the next installment. I'm buying this book the day it comes out.

On the Fringe by Coutney King Walker

Publication date: October 19, 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Claire is struggling to overcome the murder of her childhood friend and secret crush, Daniel. Everyone else seems to be moving on with their lives, but she's still trying to cope. The fact that she finds herself alone and drowning on her 16th birthday isn't helping.

Neither is thinking she sees Daniel's face in murky water as she mysteriously resurfaces. But something happened during those four and a half minutes that will make her realize it was not just her imagination.

As Claire and Daniel try to grasp a possible reconnection, other grudge-holding beings have plans of their own. Now, the two of them have to decide if their fleeting relationship is worth the possibility of Claire being trapped on the fringe forever.

Beautifully told, On the Fringe intertwines fresh ideas about devotion, revenge, and the consequences that come with life and death.

My reasons for picking ON THE FRINGE as my October Cover of the Month are slightly less passionate than my reasons for picking my Book of the Month. I had never even heard of this book until I searched what books were being released in October, 2011. But for some reason, my eyes were inexplicably drawn to this cover. It's strange. I love the way the sun is shining through the water, the contrast of the colors, the way the bubbles are rising from the girls mouth. I suppose I love the simplicity of it.

That's what I picked for October. What do you think? Do you disagree with my selections? Agree? Do you have better selections? I'd like to hear them!

Banned Books

I feel super guilty. I haven't really done ANYTHING for Banned Books Week. I'm passionately against banning books, and I sit and I read all of these posts, and I don't do anything. Well, that's going to change. Right now.

First of all, let me explain why I absolutely hate the banning of books. This is for the people that work to ban books.  

What's your name? Do I know it? Do you know my name? Do you know how old I am?

Do you care!?

No. I think you would be perfectly content to live the rest of your life without that information. You don't care who I am, what I look like, what I want to be when I'm older. So why, pray tell, do you care what I'm reading? I like reading about drugs. I like reading about sex. I like reading about violence.

How does that concern you in any way?

I loved Crank by Ellen Hopkins because it showed me that drugs can turn my life into an endless puddle of turmoil.

I loved The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I simply loved it. It didn't teach me a lesson. It was pure entertainment. I loved reading it and I'm majorly looking forward to the movie. But let me tell you, I have no intentions of sticking a bunch of people in an arena and making them fight to their death.

I loved Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It shows me what our society could turn into - what our society IS turning into. Why would you ban that book? You ban it because it talks about burning books? That makes a lot of sense. Talk about the world's greatest example of irony. My class studied that book. It had a lot to offer and after reading it, I seriously felt like I learned something.

Shall I continue? I read what I want to read. You can tell your children what to read, but you cannot tell me what I am allowed to read. You're not improving the society by removing books that make teens and children think, that make them form opinions, that give them ideas. You're really not changing the world.

The truth is that those books are our reality. Teenagers do drugs. Teenagers have sex and get pregnant. Teenagers kill one another. All I, or any other teenager for that matter, has to do to see these things is turn on the news. The truth is that most kids pick up worse tendencies by going to school everyday. The truth is that if me or any other teenager finds something to read that we enjoy, a stranger that I have never met and will never meet has no right to take that away from me.

The truth is that I am a teenager. I am an individual. I have the same rights you do. Am I telling you what to read? Is it okay that your reading a book with homicide and suicide but you tell those younger than you that it isn't okay? Every human being's mind has the ability to be influenced. It doesn't matter whether you are ten or eighty.

I am not a robot. I am free to read what I please.

There was my little rant for you. Like I said, banning books is something I am firmly against. I made that banner, and I am quite proud of my work.

Tell me what you think about banning books.

Impromptu Readathon

Lately I have fallen desperately behind on my reading. My TBR pile is balancing precariously on top of my TV and I can tell it is about to topple over at any moment. So, when I discovered that April at Good Books and Good Wine is holding a readathon from last night to 10/3 I decided I was so in!

No more Twitter. I just can't do it. That site is so addicting, and I could stay on there forhours. So, until I finish at least one of my books, I forbid myself from going on.

I know I probably won't even come close to completing this many books, but the books that I hope to get read are:

Knight's Curse by Karen Duvall
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Fury by Elizabeth Miles
Flames of Surrender by Rhiannon Pialle
The Hour of Tiamat by Lisa Taylor
Warriors of the Edge by Katie Bridges
The Perils of Being VamPixie by PJ Schrieber

So, seven books in less than 4 days....not going to happen, but I'll work at it. Wish me luck and expect reviews :D