The Book Bratz

The Book Bratz vs. SJ Bouquet: The Ultimate YA Quiz (SBPT Stop, #8)

Aug 24, 2014

Welcome to The Summer Blogger Promo Tour, an event created by us ladies at The Book Bratz, whose blog you're on right now! This is a weekly tour stop where we'll be highlighting different bloggers and their fantastic book blogs all summer long. You can read more about the tour by clicking here!

Wow, the Summer Blogger Promo Tour is (sadly) nearing its end! We have one more awesome blogger to show you before our wrap up post next week...so without further ado: Last week, Mily from The YA's Nightstand did a guest post on The Diary of a Book Blogger. This week, SJ from SJ Bouquet takes a YA Goodreads Quiz with us and compares our results! We took The Ultimate YA Quiz on Goodreads, and here are some of the questions that it asked us:

Which YA book stars Rose Hathaway as the main character?
In which book do vampires sparkle?
Which of these books featured the Unconsecrated?
This book is about a girl who finds out that she is vampire royalty?
Breaking Dawn is in what series?
Which of the following books explains the word Croatan?
Maggie and Mo are in which books?

Now, here's what we got for results:

Amber: 67% Correct

Jessica: 54% Correct (Whoops, I failed.)

SJ: 91% Correct

Looks like SJ was the winner! Now it's your turn: take the quiz by clicking here and then comment with your results down below! Hopefully you can do better than we did!

Sadly, the Summer Blogger Promo Tour is officially coming to a close. SJ was the final blogger that we're going to be featuring, but still check back next week, because we'll be putting up a wrap up post talking about what we've learned, the fun we've had, and who we've met throughout the past two months on the tour. It's going to be a post filled with recaps and memories and fun, so be sure to check back for that!

We'd like to thank SJ for taking this quiz with us (as well as doing better than both of us) and also for agreeing to let us feature her on the tour this week! You can follow up with SJ through her blog, her Twitter, and her Goodreads!

Also, click here to see our full Summer Blogger Promo Tour schedule!

Previous Tour Stop Posts:

*Sunday, July 6th (Stop #1): Talking BookCon with Dana Square

*Sunday, July 13th (Stop #2): Introducing Andrew from Endlesslyreading

*Sunday, July 20th (Stop #3): Guest Review by Ana Loves

*Sunday, July 27th (Stop #4): The YA Club Guest Post: Why They Blog

*Sunday, August 3rd (Stop #5): Waiting on Sunday with Caught Read Handed

*Sunday, August 10th (Stop #6): What Genre Are You? Quiz with Ink on the Shelf

*Sunday, August 17th (Stop #7): The YA's Nightstand Guest Post: The Diary of a Book Blogger

Let's Talk...: The Foreign Edition

Aug 22, 2014

About Foreign edition book covers!

I have noticed on twitter some bloggers collect foreign editions of a book. I will admit, I never knew the foreign editions sometimes had a different cover then the English edition. So browsing through some foreign editions, here are ones I found and liked:

Silberschatten is the German edition of Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Legend by Marie Lu. Spanish and English edition.

Alegerea is the Romanian edition of The Selection by Kiera Cass.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. Portuguese and English edition.

Rör mig inte is the Swedish edition of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.

Forsaken is the UK edition of The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver.

La Chimera di Raga is the Italian edition of The Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor.

These are just a few of the many editions out there! My personal favorite is the Scarlet and The Selection foreign editions. Silver Shadows is real pretty too!

Questions:

Do you like foreign edition covers better then the English edition?
What do you think of cover changes of English editions?
What is your favorite foreign edition?

Review: Nil by Lynne Matson

Aug 21, 2014

Title: Nil (Nil #1)
Author: Lynne Matson
Genre: Dystopia,
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Henry Holt
Published: March 4, 2014

Summary:

On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days--to escape, or you die.

Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.

~~~

The idea behind Nil was interesting. Teenagers between the ages of thirteen and nineteen randomly being dumped in the middle of an uncharted island, without their clothes and the memory that they got there through a shimmering gate. But the book raised more questions then the author actually answered.

I liked the characters. At the start of the book Thad is running out of time to get off the island, in 99 days he would either be home or die on the island of Nil, that gave her inhabitants 365 days to escape or die. I liked Thad more then Charley. I felt like I didn't know enough about her, just that she had a boy troubles, liked to have her hair combed, and loved sprite with crushed ice. What I didn't like what we didn't see into their pasts, they talked about it, but very briefly that I had a hard time grasping who they were before. Sure, Charley played volley ball and Thad was a snow border, what else is there to them?

The book was slow, I was expecting something different. Maybe the government was involved or something big like that. But we don't learn what actually causes it. There is a theory about a solar flare but hat was it. It leaves me questioning now. I was eager for a big ah-ha moment but there really wasn't one. I considered DNFing this book a few times. Some parts were slow, others felt repetitive and the language was corny. I understand Thad and Charley fell in love, I was shipping them from the start, but you can only repeat your goodbyes so many times before it starts getting real annoying. Or the amount of times Charley asked Thad to sleep with her, I just didn't like it.

The book had its good points though. Wanting to know about Nil kept you turning the pages, and who was going to die, who was catching a gate or who got killed by an animal. The ending got me, it has me content and happy though. But there is Nil Unlocked coming out in 2015 that has my eyebrows raised. The way Matson left the book off doesn't seem like there could be a sequel. So is the sequel about the secrets of the island? Or what happens to the characters left on the island? I am curious about them. I wish I could have liked this book more, but it was just blah to me.

RATING: ★★★

Waiting on Wednesday: Dead Zone by Robison Wells (#9)

Aug 19, 2014

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine

Title: Dead Zone (Blackout #1)
Author: Robison Wells
Genre: Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: September 30, 2014

Summary:

America is at war—and five teens are caught in the crossfire.

It began with a virus. Then a series of attacks erupted across the nation. Now the true invasion has begun, and a handful of teenagers with impossible powers are America’s only defense.

~~~

Amber's Comments:

I remember reading Black Out and being so blown away and then eagerly waiting for Dead Zone. Now, it is so close and I have seen ARCs and realized that it is almost time. Dead Zone is one of my most anticipated reads of 2014!

What are you waiting for? Post the link in your comment!

Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold {Blog Tour + Giveaway}

Title: Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold
Author(s): Brinda Berry, Cate Dean, Jayne A. Knolls, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Theresa DaLayne
Genre: Anthology
Publisher: Sweet Biscuit Publishing LLC
Publication Date: March 2014

Summary:

A collection of six folklore retellings that will twist your mind and claim your heart.
SHIMMER: A heartbroken boy rescues a mermaid... but is it too late to save her?
BETWEEN is about a girl, a genie, and a ton of bad decisions.
SUNSET MOON: Eloise doesn't believe in Native American magic--until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.
THE MAKER: An incapacitated young man bent on revenge builds a creature to do it for him.
A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING: The story of a Maya goddess torn between duty and love, and the ultimate sacrifice she must make to achieve true happiness.
THE BARRICADES: When a human girl risks everything to save the life of an Eternal prince, will their feelings for each other change the world they know, or tear it apart?

~~~

EXCERPT:
A Beautiful Mourning by Theresa DaLayne:

I could not help but smile at the newly budded flowers scattered over the hills of the middleworld. My bare feet sank into the cool grass. It sprang between my toes, reminding me of the many walks my mother and I took together when I was a child.

It had been many years since she last strolled beside me. Many years since her soul left her body and joined the breeze of the heavens.

I paused beside a tree and lay my hand upon its bark.

I missed my mother’s laughter. Her sparkling green eyes and her sweet voice. No longer a child, I ached for her guidance and advice in the matters of life, and especially love.

A hummingbird buzzed past me and broke my gloomy thoughts. I turned and watched it hover over blooms and feast on the bounty of the nectar. I extended my hand. The tiny bird startled.

“I intend you no harm,” I said softly. It was not only for the mortals, but for the creatures of this realm that I tended to the greenery on which they depended to survive. I loved them, and wished them nothing but prosperity and joy.

Yet their happiness was a constant reminder of my sorrow, and some days, my heart did not have the will to carry on.

The rhythm of the bird’s rapidly pumping wings soothed my disparity and brought a smile to my lips. I lowered my hand and the creature vanished from sight.

It was then I noticed the large cat weaving between the trees. I smiled and stepped toward the jaguar. “Balam. How nice to see you. It’s been far too long.”

The middleworld deity slinked toward me. One large paw lazily moved in front of the other until he was close enough to touch.

His fur was like silk under my fingers.

“What special occasion brings you?”

Balam did not answer, which was typical for him. Even when in his human form, the middleworld god had never spoken a word. Instead he simply butted his head against my leg and rubbed his body along me. His tail brushed across my belly as he continued past me and headed to the forest.

I spun just in time to see Balam vanish into the foliage. There was no use in calling him back. He would wander in the forests and jungles until he decided to return. When that would be, I couldn’t say.

I turned back toward tending to the flowers. Spring in the mortals’ realm was my fondest season. It was, after all, the beginning of seasons in which I spent the most time with Kinich.

I pulled my hair to one side and wove it into a braid over my shoulder. My touch prompted tiny purple flowers to blossom in my hair. They were Kinich’s favorite color to see paired beside my skin.

My father knew not of our romance, though it could not be deemed a surprise. I was the tender of flowers and trees for the mortals, and Kinich…

I paused beside a struggling rose bush as the sun warmed my shoulders. My smile widened, and the grass, which I had raised from seedlings, flourished into thick, green blades.

A beam of light focused on the bush beside me. The branches bloomed with wild rosebuds.

I stooped beside the flowers and touched their silken petals. They were so lovely.

The sound of light footsteps caught my attention. The warmth of the sun intensified on my back. I took one last moment to admire the blooms before I stood and turned to see Kinich standing behind me—golden hair, and eyes that beamed with shades of orange and yellow.

He smiled.

My heart jumped.

His gaze wandered to the rose bush. “Your flowers no longer struggle for life.”

I arched my brow and strode toward him. “And you believe you are responsible for giving them life?”

“Perhaps.” He reached out and twisted my braid around his fingers. “Without my light and warmth your flowers would not bloom.” He allowed my braid to slip out of his gentle grasp.

I tiptoed around him. “And without my touch, the light which you provide would have nothing to nurture.” I walked past him and gave him my back.

“Then I suppose we need each other.” His hands rested on my hips and then rounded my waist. Kinich pulled my back against his chest. My eyes fluttered shut.

His lips grazed the curve of my neck, his breath hot against my skin. “I have no shame in admitting I need you.” He pressed a kiss on my shoulder.