In My Mailbox - #4

{ ++ } Kristi over at The Story Siren hosts this fun meme. It's a chance for book bloggers to speak out about the books we've received via mail, e-reader, etc, or just snagged off a library shelf. No matter how you come across those shiny new books, we all know we love to show them off and get pepped up to read them!

Readers fell in love with Cannie Shapiro, the smart, sharp-tongued, bighearted heroine of Good in Bed who found her happy ending after her mother came out of the closet, her father fell out of her life, and her ex-boyfriend started chronicling their ex-sex life in the pages of a national magazine.

Now Cannie's back. After her debut novel - a fictionalized (and highly sexualized) version of her life - became an overnight bestseller, she dropped out of the public eye and turned to writing science fiction under a pseudonym. She's happily married to the tall, charming diet doctor Peter Krushelevansky and has settled into a life that she finds wonderfully predictable - knitting in the front row of her daughter Joy's drama rehearsals, volunteering at the library, and taking over-forty yoga classes with her best friend Samantha.

As preparations for Joy's bat mitzvah begin, everything seems right in Cannie's world. Then Joy discovers the novel Cannie wrote years before and suddenly finds herself faced with what she thinks is the truth about her own conception - the story her mother hid from her all her life. When Peter surprises his wife by saying he wants to have a baby, the family is forced to reconsider its history, its future, and what it means to be truly happy. 
@ amazon.com

Another town. Another school. Another Mclean.

Ever since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her father have been fleeing their unhappy past. And Mclean's become a pro at reinventing herself with each move.

But in Lakeview, Mclean finds herself putting down roots and making friends---in part, thanks to Dave, the most real person Mclean's ever met. Dave just may be falling in love with her, but can he see the person she really is? Does Mclean herself know?
@ amazon.com

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.
@ amazon.com

Riley and Alice, two sisters now in their twenties, and as fiercely different as they are loyal, have spent every summer at their parents’ modest beach house on New York’s Fire Island. Each year, they return to the house and community they have known since they were children—and to Paul, the boy next door. But this summer marks a season of change: budding love and sexual interest, an illness, and a deep secret force all three to confront the increasing complexities of their lives and friendships. 
@ amazon.com

{ ++ } Let me tell ya'll, it has been a long, hard week ya'll.  I apologize many times for not being around the last week; I returned to work after vacation and had very little time to spend online.  So my blog has been neglected sorely this last week or two but I promise I am back and hoping to start being here MUCH more. 

{ ++ } I've gained a few followers since I last checked in here, and I just wanted to say hello to everyone, and thanks to those of you who have been with me since the beginning as I learned (and am still learning) the ropes and having a lot of fun.  Later everyone!

Follow Me Friday - #6 + Book Blogger Hop - #4 + TGIF - #1

{ ++ } Follow Me Friday, aka "Follow My Book Blog" is probably the coolest meme I've come across in awhile.  It's hosted over at Parajunkee's View and us amazing book-a-holics get the chance to answer a reading-related question, as well as make new friends over the weekend.  It's a great way to kick off said weekend, and a really fun and easy way of stealing our way into the hearts of fellow book blogger's.

{ ++ } This week's featured blog is Ninja Girl Reads, authored by Ninja Girl!  Before I get to my answer to this week's question, ya'll be sure to check out her fabulous blog, as it's quite an honor to be the feature!

 This week's question... It's circle time.  Time for us to open up and share.  Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you?  (We all have them...)

{ ++ } Okay, since you asked so nicely...  ;)

+ If it's a book that I am really nervous/excited about, I read the end first.  That way it tends to calm me down and I can read the book at a regular pace without freaking out.

+ No matter the season (winter, summer, etc) I have to have socks on at all times (unless I'm wearing flip-flops or something.)  My feet feel weird without socks!

+ If I don't know what I'm about to drink/eat (ie I've never had it) I have been known to sniff my food first, in public.

+ I can't stand the smell of most fruit juices or bubble gum.  Apple / orange juice is a notable exception.  Cherry/grape etc actually makes me a little nauseas.

+ I tend to be rather reserved until I get to know a person; those who know me best are not at all surprised by my sense of humor/beliefs/etc, those who don't have no idea what I am like. 

 { ++ } Hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books, what better way to allow us book bloggers to mix and mingle than a bit of a reading-related social?  Every week she hosts this event, where we can throw our names in the hat so to speak, and hopefully end up with a few new friends who share our interests and our love (and in my case, obsession) of books.

This week's question is from Ivan of Ivan Bookworm:  "If you were given the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?"

{ ++ }  I'd want to visit the world of Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games trilogy.  The entire concept of the series fascinates me, and I'd like to visit the 'verse of around the time of book one, or early book two, just to see how the Districts, especially Katniss's really lived.  When I read the series their plight just really struck my heart hard, imagining these poor kids having to grow up so fast, only to one day be forced into an arena to fight, literally, for their own survival.

{ ++ } TFIG is a nifty little meme hosted by Ginger of GReads, which basically kick-starts the weekend by throwing out a fun little book-related question, and also giving bloggers a chance to recap what we've posted this week for anyone who may have missed one of our events. 

This week's question: Back to the Beginning -what was the first book you reviewed on your blog? 

{ ++ } The first book I reviewed on my blog was The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.  I'm still relatively new to the whole book-blogging world but I love that I already have a bit more of a format to my reviews than I did with the first one, and that everyone I've met has been so friendly and willing to kinda bear with me as I learn.  :)

This week at Once Upon a Prologue;;;

+ Teaser Tuesdays - Delirium

+ Molli Reviews... - Delirium

+ Waiting On Wednesday... - The Day Before 

{ ++ } Ok that's all for this week!  I'm going out of town tonight, then out with friends tomorrow so I may not be able to check in and mingle until late tomorrow or Sunday; if I don't make it back til, then, or if I do, love and peace to everyone! 

Waiting On Wednesday - #5

{ ++ }  This weekly event/feature is graciously hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.  She's way too awesome, and put this event together in order to bring us bloggers together.  Some of us like me are relatively new; others have been here longer, but the gist of it is,  we all need an opportunity to reveal our can't-wait-to-read-'em, omg-gotta-have-'em-books, (and maybe make a few new friends along the way.)  Here is my pick this week

Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.

 @goodreads.com  / @ amazon.com
[expected publication: 06/28/1011]




{ ++ } OK, I can admit it.  This one has a gorgeous cover, which is part of the draw for me, but I am also interested in the premise, and to see where this one goes.  I'm not sure if I'll buy it in hardback or wait on the paperback, but I will be checking out this book. 

{ ++ } What are your picks this week?  :)

Molli Reviews...Delirium

Ninety-five days and then I'll be safe.  I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.  I want to get it over with.  It's hard to be patient.  It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet.  Still, I worry.  They say in the old days, love drove people to madness.  The deadliest of all deadly things: it kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

                                      _______

They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever.

And I've always believed them - until now.

Now, everything has changed.  Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.  

@ amazon.com (text from front flap & back cover)

Pages: 448 pages
Published: HarperCollins; 02/01/11
The author: Lauren Oliver


The long story short: Lena Haloway wants nothing to do with love - or amor deliria nervosa - as she approaches her 18th birthday.  All she wants is to be cured and march stoically into the future that awaits her: a planned education, planned marriage, planned emotions.  Then she meets Alex, and begins to question everything she has always blindly believed.  This story was fantastically well-told, with heart-achingly poignant prose, and a lead female whose emotional growth propelled you along for the ride with her.  You felt Lena's fear and her pain as she shed her former skin and bravely embraced the concept of standing on her own two feet, and thinking for herself, both with her mind and with her heart.

Final rating: 4 of 5 stars

___________________________________________

Every once in awhile an author rockets onto the scene whose books have the ability to grab you, shake you up, twist around your insides in a delicious way, and refuse to let you go even after you've closed the pages.  For me, that author is Lauren Oliver.  (Also at this point I should say, getting between 4-5 stars out of me isn't always easy - this book got a solid, resounding 4 stars.)

Delirium introduces us to Lena Haloway, who lives in a futuristic United States, in a time when love has been pinpointed as an actual disease, and a cure administered beginning at age 18.  The widely touted cure safeguards you from love, and, it seems, from many other emotions as well.  Lena's sister, Rachel has been cured for years; all Lena can think about is her procedure.  Her biggest fear is ending up like her mother, who after three failed attempts at the cure,  was still stricken with love and committed suicide - but not before leaving Lena with a message:  I love you.  Remember.  They cannot take it.

Alex changes everything for Lena.  Suddenly she is recognizing the symptoms of deliria in her own thoughts and actions.  But she is unable to stop seeing him, and as their relationship progresses, unable to keep from questioning the rules and beliefs she has placed all her faith in.

I loved almost everything about this book.  I truly don't think I could say enough good things.  I enjoyed that our female lead was the sort of character anyone could sympathize with and cheer for; Lena isn't perfect, she even describes herself as in-between.  In Alex's eyes, confident, brash Alex, she begins to see herself as beautiful, as special.  As Lena questions what she has been told, she begins to grow into an independent, courageous young woman, who is far more capable than she has ever realized.  Her relationship with Alex blossoms into a signal of hope, and their romance is beautifully crafted.

I loved that this book made me think.  When Lena asked questions, I asked questions.  And the answers weren't simple or reassuring.  They were terrifying.  Imagine a world where the government tells you what to believe, what to feel, who you will be married to, that they know what is good for you.  Then imagine discovering they have been lying to you all along.  Love is not the malady they claim it is; love is a blessing, as Lena discovers.  And if they have lied about that, what else

Supporting characters like Hana, Lena's rebellious best friend make this book all the more fascinating.  Lena's drone-like "cured" family members exist to, as the book progresses, act as a contrast between how Lena, who is feeling, sees and experiences life, and the droll future the procedure promises. I would like to have seen the spark that Hana possesses followed through on;  I was a little disappointed with how Oliver left her character in the end of the book.  And I couldn't get enough of Alex - I wish we had seen a little more of his back story.  He comes across as rather perfect, and I liked when Oliver scratched his surface and we saw that he wasn't.

This is the first book in a planned trilogy, and I will definitely be buying a copy of the second book, Pandemonium, as soon as it is out in stores!  Special thanks go to Suz at A Soul Unsung for being so kind as to let me borrow her copy of this fantastic book! 

Waiting on Wednesday - #4 + Giveaway Gossip

{ ++ }  This weekly event/feature is graciously hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.  She's way too awesome, and put this event together in order to bring us bloggers together.  Some of us like me are relatively new; others have been here longer, but the gist of it is,  we all need an opportunity to reveal our can't-wait-to-read-'em, omg-gotta-have-'em-books, (and maybe make a few new friends along the way.)  Here are my picks this week!

Seven deadly sins. Seven souls to save. And a man and a woman treading the lines of danger, desire and deliverance ...As the son of a serial killer, homicide detective Thomas DelVecchio Jr grew up in the shadow of evil. Now, on the knife-edge between civic duty and blind retribution, he atones for the sins of his father. Hired to monitor Veck is Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly, whose interest in Veck is both professional and arousingly personal. But Veck and Sophia have a common interest. He's Jim Herron, a mysterious stranger enlisted to save the soul of a killer's latest victim, one precariously hovering between heaven and hell. Before Herron's job is done, Veck and Sophia will be inexorably drawn into a battle of good against evil, where the risk is nothing less that total damnation.   @ goodreads.com   /  @ amazon.com  (Expected publication: September 6 2011)

{ ++ } JR Ward has this ability to create lead males that just make me go "MINE!"  Her Fallen Angels series is, I suppose you could say, a spin-off series to her bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but in this book, the third Fallen Angels series, we have our first solid cross-over between the two series.  Not only are those in peril, caught between good and evil always compelling, but angels Jim, Eddie, and Adrian are always a trip to have around.

The Undivided are divided. The psychic twins, Ronan and Darragh, have been separated by the traitor Druid, Amergin, who has kidnapped Ronan and thrown him through a rift into another reality. Now time is running out for Darragh. If Ronan isn't found soon, they will both die. But his twin brother is lost in a reality where Druids are legend, and there is no magic. Somehow, before the Autumn Equinox, they must find one young man in a world of six billion people...

Meanwhile, Ren Kavanagh has no notion of where he comes from. He is plagued by strange injuries that appear from nowhere and everyone is convinced he is deliberately harming himself for attention. Then he meets the enticing and mysterious Trasa, and before he can figure out how it happened, he is in serious trouble - arrested for arson and possibly murder.   @ goodreads.com

{ ++ }  Jennifer Fallon is, hands down, one of my favorite authors.  She has this mad ability to write these characters that I just want to hug forever, people that by the time their story is done, I am half in love with, and am never quite able to forgive.  I've been a HUGE fan of hers ever since I read her Second Sons trilogy.  I'm definitely looking forward to this book!  (It is, I believe, out in Australia, so about this time next year, I'll be able to get it here in paperback...)

{ ++ } Last thing, I wanted to mention a few awesome giveaways currently going on!  We've got Reading With Rebecca's May Giveaway (an awesome looking book called Home Safe), Kristi @ The Story Siren's Summer Giveaway (Moonglass and We'll Always Have Summer (synopsis included for both) a Sloppy Firsts giveaway over at Elegantly Bound Books (I'd love to win this one!), and at the same blog, her 200 Followers giveaway!  Ya'll check those out if you like.  : )


{ ++ } Finally, I am off work for nine glorious days starting this Saturday so look for hopefully a new layout, some revamping and house-cleaning, and a few reviews, as I have several books I want to finish up!  Until then.... love and peace!

Teaser Tuesdays - #4

{ ++ } Miz B over at Should Be Reading hosts this weekly meme, where us book lovers get a chance to spotlight our currently-reading and basically...do a little teasing.  : ) The rules are simple:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page  (Well to be fair, I never said I would actually follow all the rules!)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE 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 & author, too, so that other participants can add the book to their to-reads if they like your teasers! 

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.  

(synopsis from Goodreads.com)

 They  told us the raids were carried out for our own protection.  They told us the regulators were only interested in keeping the peace.  They told us told us that love was a disease.  They told us it would kill us in the end. For the very first time, I realize that this, too, might be a lie. 

- Delirium, page 280

{ ++ } I am hoping to push through and finish this book this evening.  If so, I will have my review up tomorrow!

Follow Me Friday - #5

{ ++ } Follow Me Friday, aka "Follow My Book Blog" is probably the coolest meme I've come across in awhile.  It's hosted over at Parajunkee's View and us amazing book-a-holics get the chance to answer a reading-related question, as well as make new friends over the weekend.  It's a great way to kick off said weekend, and a really fun and easy way of stealing our way into the hearts of fellow book blogger's.

{ ++ } This week's featured blog is Magnet 4 Books, authored by Al!  Before I get to my answer to this week's question, ya'll be sure to check out her blog, as it's quite an honor to be the featured blog!  Let's all show her some love.  : )

This week's question: 1) What character in a book would you most like to be?  2) What character in a book would you most like to date?

{ ++ } 1) Oh wow, oh wow.  I guess...GAH.  I truly have no idea, because there are so many characters in books and book series that I admire.  I've seen so many strong female leads who really impressed me and whose stories resonated with me.  OK I'm gonna go with Hermione Granger.  She's smart, she's strong, she's more than she seems, she's got magic, and she's a fierce and loyal friend who gets to live in the Harry Potter 'verse.  

{ ++ } 2). Daemon Sadi.  (From Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy.)  I  don't think I could just date him, because a) I'd want to keep him forever and b) his heart belongs to another but OMG.  Seductive to the max, loyal, strong, snarly, fierce, believes in protecting females?  YES PLEASE.

{ ++ } That's all I've got for this week.  Hi to my current followers - love ya'll! - and a big ol welcome to anyone new who makes their way here! 

Booking Through Thursday - #2

{ ++ } Booking Through Thursday shines the light on some book-ish type questions others might not ask, revealing our preferences, and deep, dark book-nerd secrets, all the while bringing us together as bloggers.  I saw it and figured: why not?  What better way to add a little spice and companionship to a week nearing its end but not quite there yet!?

Name one book that you hope never, ever, ever gets made into a movie (no matter how good that movie might be).

{ ++ } Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.  Simply put the series is too intricate and complicated and massive to ever get a movie formula right.  Add into the mix that however diligently the powers that be tried, I don't believe they could ever truly cast so many of the characters...Mat, Rand, Perrin...Elayne, Aviendha... Everyone has their "dream cast" - I know I have mine, and just the few I've cast has about broken my brain.  ;)  And just the sheer scope of the world building, the details, we'd be looking at at least two trilogies, and well, I want to keep my memories of the series sacred, contained in the pages.  I read the series (the 11th book had just came out when I actually got there) with two of my best friends several years back, and am hoping to do an epic series re-read next year!

{ ++ } Everyone have a fantastic evening!  I am off to watch Bones and savor a cup of hot tea!

Molli Reviews...Wolfsbane

Shapeshifting mercenary Aralorn leads a dangerous existence. Now she must return home for her noble father, the Lyon of Lambshold, has passed away. But when Aralorn and her companion Wolf arrive, they find he's not dead, but ensorcelled by the ae'Magi, using him as a conduit to destroy Aralorn and Wolf. She must overcome this mysterious mist or fall to the blackest of magic.

@ amazon.com / @ goodreads
Pages: 304
Published: Ace; 11/02/10
The Author: Patricia Briggs

The long story short: I liked this novel more than I did its predecessor.  Wolfsbane felt much more polished and cohesively told than Masques.  I could definitely tell Briggs had grown as a writer, and this story held me raptly fascinated!  I was very satisfied overall with the story told, and actually ended it thinking, "sequel.  now. please!"  3 1/2 of 5 stars

________________________________

This time around, Patricia Briggs brings back her heroine, Aralorn, and her companion, Wolf, for an all new adventure.  Aralorn's father has died - or so she believes.  Upon returning to her home for the first time in the decade since she left to become a mercenary, Aralorn finds many changes: teenage siblings who were babies when she left, a newly built temple to the goddess of death, a brother who is suspicious of her and her magic, and a father who is spelled and asleep, but definitely not dead.

  

Aralorn dives into the mystery surrounding her father's condition, while dealing with a few particularly painful reminders of just why she left home.  Added into the mix is her increasingly  complex relationship with Wolf.  I think this is my absolute favorite thing about this book, seeing their relationship change and grow.  I love that Wolf is turning to her, and not away from her, and learning that someone loves him.  I just wanted to reach through the pages and hug him, watching - him - change and grow.

The threat of the ae'Magi (did he survive, when everyone believes him dead?  and if so, how?) looms though, and is a definite threat to Aralorn's happiness, and to her father.  Someone is forcing those around her to work black magic.  I enjoyed how she, Wolf, and the others - including her uncle - all came together to fight against the dark magic.   

My only complaints with this book were, I wish it had lasted a little longer, and I thought the ending was perhaps a little too neat for my tastes.  I would have liked to have seen the book carry us a little father past where it did, perhaps set the stage for another adventure with Wolf and Aralorn.  And I wish we'd see a little more of her family.  I loved at least two of her grown brothers.  : )