{read} lunar chronicles - fairy tales with a futuristic twist

Do you like fairy tales? Did you enjoy The Hunger Games series? If you answered yes to either of those questions, I just might be able to suggest a new series for you to fall in love with.

 

I am a superrrrrrrrrr cheap-o when it comes to buying books for my Kindle, especially now that I live in Spain. It is horrible, but I would rather download the badly written free books to pass the time, than spend money on a book these days. 

As I was perusing my usual "best of free books" section of the Kindle store, I came across an option to download Chapters 1-5 of a book called Cinder (about a futuristic Cinderella.) After Googling it, I found a website that recommended it to people who enjoyed The Hunger Games series. And man, oh man, the first five chapters did not disappoint! I immediately downloaded the rest of the book - splurging for the $7.99 purchase ;).

I finished Cinder in two days and then looked up other books by the author, Marissa Meyer. I found out that she has one more full-length novel and two short stories that tie in with the novels. The Cinder story continues into her new book Scarlet (about a futuristic Little Red Riding Hood.) Her short stories can both be read on Tor.com for free. Glitches is a short prequel to the Cinder story and The Queen's Army should be read before diving into Scarlet. I haven't read Glitches yet, but the Queen's Army is just as good as her two full-length novels!

Here is the book description from Amazon for Cinder:

"Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future."

Andddd for Scarlet:

"Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner."

I'm about 40% through Scarlet so far and can't stop reading it either. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a fun, new read. Download Chapers 1-5 to your Kindle for free from Amazon & check it out. :)

Have you read the Lunar Chronicles yet? What do you think about them?

PS. Pictures from my trip coming soon - I had so much fun!!!

xx, Jen 

{read} summer bookworm

I've read 12 books this summer.

I'm ashamed to admit that is more books than I read in all four years of college [for fun].

I would find myself feeling guilty if I sat down for an hour to read a novel. I only had

about a million pages of reading to do for class every night after all! I would somehow

always manage to find time to sit on Facebook though? Priorities... obviously.

It is so nice to have so much free time to do with as I please now.

A little bit too much free time.... does someone want to hire me?! 

Here are four books I enjoyed the most this summer.

Fun fact: Three out of these four books were published and released this summer.

• [ONE.] Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: [published June 5, 2012]
• Short summary: A beautiful married couple is supposed to be blissfully celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary together. One problem - the wife vanishes without a trace. Is everything really what it seems? This is a psychological thriller with all the makings of a psychopathic character.
• My verdict: I downloaded a sample of this book to my kindle just before I left for my trip to Chicago to visit Seth. I had never heard of the author Gillian Flynn before, but the storyline sounded just up my alley. It took all of my strength to not completely devour the rest of the book before my trip after I read the sample portion. It drew me in from the first few pages. Love. Love. Love. Loved so much that I finished this book in about 3 days, downloaded Flynn's first two novels, and finished them before I left Chicago. Um. I was there for.... 9 days. Yeah. My not-so-inner psychology nerd devoured this book from start to finish because I am extremely interested in psychopathy, narcissism, and antisocial disorder [to name a few]. If you are like me... buy this book immediately!
• Similar novels: Like I mentioned before, I also read Flynn's first two novels, Dark Places  and Sharp Objects after finishing Gone Girl. I liked both of them, but Gone Girl is still my number one. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through The Madness by Jon Ronson is a  non-fiction book that has the same topic as Gone Girl that I also enjoyed reading.
• [TWO.] The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters: [published July 10, 2012] 
• Short Summary: Set in a pre-apocalyptic USA, Hank Palace is a detective in a "hanging town." Many people are beginning to commit suicide by hanging to avoid the date of the huge meteor crash that is supposed to wipe out an entire continent. He stumbles across a hanging case that doesn't seem right to him. He sets out to investigate what he suspects is a murder... that no one else cares about. 
• My verdict:  I found this book on Amazon in the "Up and Coming" kindle section. I decided to download it because it was cheap and sounded like a good read. I'm really glad I decided to download this book! The main character is very interesting and the plot of the book seems like it could really come true someday. 
• Similar novels: I haven't read any other pre-apocalyptic novels, but this book is supposedly headed to a trilogy. If it does, I will definitely make sure to download the next two novels. There is another Winters novel that I would like to read soon. It is called Bedbugs. It sounds creepy and fabulous.
• [THREE.] Spitfire by Annette Sandoval: [published July 17, 2012]
• Short Summary: Tomi Reyes is a drop dead beautiful Latina woman with a ton of sass and sarcasm. She is promoted from front desk secretary to executive assistant of a guy named Scott. He clearly takes a liking to Tomi even though he is married. All of a sudden, Tomi's friends start to end up in refrigerators, dead. All signs point to her... someone is framing her. She realizes her life is in danger and reaches out to an old friend and new love interest, Nickels, an FBI agent.
• My verdict: After reading so many dark and heavy books, this novel was a humorous relief. While the plot is still murder mystery, Tomi is a fun main character to follow. I would recommend this book as a quick beach or vacation read.
• Similar novels: Nothing to report here!
• [FOUR.] The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory: [published November 2, 2004]
• Short Summary: This is a well researched by fictionalized account of Henry VII, his first two wives, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, and one of his many mistresses, Mary Boleyn. It is a tale we all know very well from European history class brought to life. The main plot is about the struggle of sisterhood rivalry between Anne Boleyn and her lesser-known sister, Mary Boleyn.
• My verdict: Could. Not. Stop. Reading. I read this 672 page book in about 3 days while on vacation in California. I have always been interested in Tudor history, so this book was incredibly fascinating. Recommended to anyone who likes intrigue, suspense, romance, history, and of course, Henry VII.
• Similar novels: Phillipa Gregory writes a TON of novels about European history. You can check out her Amazon author page to see the full list. After finishing this novel I downloaded The Boleyn Inheritance. I did not like it quite as much as The Other Boleyn Girl, but it is a captivating read nonetheless. 

If you want to check out my reviews for these books and many more, add me on Goodreads!

What is your favorite recent read?

xo, Jen

disclaimer: None of these authors know that I exist. All opinions expressed are my own.

{blog love} rent a textbook, change a life

As the semester winds down, it is becoming that time for me to ship my textbooks back. I have been an avid textbook renter from online websites since I tried to sell back a $130 textbook to my local bookstore at the end of the semester a few years ago. The store clerk looked at me and said, "Um... we aren't buying back that text anymore. The company published a new edition that the professors will be using next semester." 

Nothing worse could be said to a fresh-out-of-finals-week college student with no money to spare.

Needless to say, I decided at the beginning of the next semester that I was going to find a better way to obtain my textbooks for all of my classes. Enter online book rentals. 

One company in particular shines the most to me. CampusBookRentals.com is making strides to bring students cheap textbooks and make a difference in the lives of children at the same time. This company donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented. If you have never heard of Operation Smile before, it is an organization dedicated to operating on children born with cleft lips, cleft palates, and other facial deformities at no cost to the family of the child suffering. Below is a short YouTube video highlighting the inspiring work Operation Smile does for the children of the world.

I love knowing that I can help to make a small difference for Operation Smile, just by renting textbooks through CampusBookRentals.com. 

Not only can you help out a wonderful cause while renting through Campus Book Rentals, but you also save  up to 40%-90% of your hard earned scholarship cash on each text book rented. In addition, there is free shipping both ways and flexible renting periods. You are also allowed to highlight in the textbooks, something I know my university will not allow if we are renting books from our official bookstore. The shipping is quick and painless. I received textbooks from this company within a few days of ordering.

Have I convinced you to check out this awesome online rental company yet? I hope so because....

one lucky reader is going to win a $50 credit to use during their next textbook purchase!

Now for the rules:

1. Mandatory: You must be following my blog & comment on this post!
2. Mandatory: "Like" Campus Book Rentals on Facebook.
3. Additional Entry: "Like" Operation Smiles on Facebook.
4. Additional Entry: Follow me on Twitter.
5. Additional Entry: Follow Campus Book Rentals on Twitter.
6. Additional Entry: Follow Operation Smiles on Twitter.
7. Additional Entry: Tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to include @xxJenSmith and the link!
8. Additional Entry: Blog about this giveaway. Leave the link to your blog post in a comment.

Leave each entry in a different comment. 

I will pick a winner through a random generator & announce the winner Friday morning at 11:00 AM. 

You have until 10:00 AM Friday morning to enter. 

Good luck!

xo, Jen

Disclaimer: CampusBookRentals.com is providing the $50 textbook credit to one reader. However, all opinions are my own and any compensation offered is the prize for a reader in this giveaway. I used this company on my own to order textbooks before I was approached by a rep to write this blog post.