On My Shelf: August 23rd

Hi! I'm going to start doing these 'On My Shelf' posts where I will post what I am currently reading, what I have bought and are next in line for me to read, and what I have recently read but have not yet posted reviews on.

Currently Reading:

I'm 1/2 of the way through!
I'm so in love with this series.

About 3 Chapters in.
I've heard good things, but I've also heard that this book is super degrading to women...
I'm a MAJOR feminist, but many of my friends like it, so I decided I'd give the book a chance.... we'll see how it goes!

Just Finished (Yet to review):

Next Up:

Heard amazing things about it, and it was on sale on amazon kindle books. 

I won this on Good reads First Reads giveaway... so excited! Looks to be a lot like Percy Jackson!

This is sitting on my kindle, taunting me....  I LOVED the first one.

And there are like 10 other books I've got waiting on my kindle, but I'll post them on my next On My Shelf post. Thanks! Be sure to comment with any books you've read lately that you recommend: i'm always on the lookout for new books!

REVIEW: Destined (Wings, #4)

I'm really picky about my YA fantasy novels, especially the vampire and faerie variety. That being said, I really enjoyed the Wings series. There are a lot of fae books out there, and I love the science behind being a faerie along with how they matched faerie history with 'real world' history.

Here's my review of Destined.

Destined (Wings, #4) by Aprilynne Pike

Four stars.

What a marvelous ending! I'll admit that my interest in the first three books of the series was only mild, but this book is what really sold it for me. The characters are rich and have REAL development, which includes mistakes, wrong decisions and consequences. The ending of the book is bittersweet but not totally unexpected, and above all things is very realistic. I fell very much in love with this world and reading this conclusion to the series that ties it all together very well was definitely worth it. Even though I didn't love the first three when I read them, I know that going back and reading them again would be even more of a treat than the first time, now that I know all of the wonderful change that takes place.One word of caution, this book is definitely intended for the young adult. If you go into it expecting a great classic piece of literature, you will be disappointed. But if you appreciate this series for what it is, I believe you will fall in love with the characters and the fascinating world presented with its subtle hints of history; including for example King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinivere, along with Oberon from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Nights Dream."

REVIEW: The Golden Lily

First of all: Let me just say that the Vampire Academy series and now Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead reduces me back to being a screaming teen fan girl. I LOVE them. Just had to get that out of the way! Now, here's my review of The Golden Lily. :)

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines, #2) 
by Richelle Mead (Goodreads Author) 

Emily Rose Shallenberger's review 

Jun 15, 12  ·  edit

Read on June 15, 2012 — I own a copy

Wow. What a cliffhanger! This companion series to Vampire Academy is definitely starting to live up to the expectations I had after falling in love with the world of Lissa, Rose and Dimitri. Richelle Mead really builds Sydney's character so much in this book and she is as interesting, if not more so, than any of the others. Looking at her human view of the vampire world is refreshing and interesting. The plot itself was fast paced and even though I was able to guess many of the plot twists before they were revealed, as a young adult novel, I am pleased with how this series is turning out. I'm not a huge fan of companion series as I usually find them to be lacking. But in The Golden Lily there is a healthy amount of the characters from the Vampire Academy series along with delving more deeply into minor characters and allowing growth in characters like Adrian, who had low expectations set upon him in all of the previous books and is now really living up to the sort of change I love to see in characters that makes the worlds of fiction and fantasy so much more realistic.

REVIEW: Unmasking the Face

Unmasking the Face: A Guide to Recognizing Emotions from Facial Clues 
by Paul Ekman, Wallace V. Friesen 

Emily Rose Shallenberger's review 

Jun 29, 12  ·  edit

Read from June 15 to 29, 2012

I was very pleased with this book. I've been doing a lot of reading on micro-expressions and watching documentaries and tv shows about lie detecting and reading body language, etc, and this book is one of the most helpful resources I've come across so far. Not only is it easy to read, even for those who are completely unfamiliar with micro-expressions or anything related, it covers the basics while not being overly boring for those who are familiar with the subject. Each chapter has very detailed descriptions of the different components to what each universal emotion looks like on the face, with pictures and diagrams to support the facts. They also include circumstances such as using only "fear brows" and how to recognize the different emotions without all the physically displayed facets of the emotion. This novel also included in these chapters the combinations of faces, such as fear-surprise, anger-contempt, or guilt-sadness. The book didn't skip around and had many clear examples. It also had chapters on the science behind this study and the background. Also explained was why this information is useful in everyday life, even for those that aren't scientists, lawyers or law enforcement.

At the end of the book they had faces to test you on how much you learned and supporting chapters on subjects such as reading motives behind emotions, or how micro-expressions are affected by facial deceit.

REVIEW: Don't Breathe A Word

Don't Breathe a Word 
by Holly Cupala (Goodreads Author) 

Emily Rose Shallenberger's review 

Jul 15, 12  ·  edit

bookshelves: own-on-kindle

Read from July 11 to 13, 2012

Warning: This review contains some light spoilers.
I don't give books 5 stars very often, but this book was breathtaking. Joy leaves her home and abusive boyfriend to live on the streets and find a homeless boy who once offered to help her. Being homeless, while completely different than she imagined, was still better than what she left behind.
This book blew me away. The characters are rich, full and realistic. They make mistakes, do stupid things, feel fear and embarrassment and all other sorts of genuine qualities. The main character, Joy, is very true to character in the way that she plays the part of a victim trying to break free of her abuser. She is very lovable and heartbreaking. I wanted her to be happy so very much.
Alert: This book is pretty graphic. It mentions a lot of drug and alcohol use along with rape, violence and self-injury. There are a lot of swear words and this is raw in the way that it portrays the world of living on the streets and gives us a solid look into the terrifying reality that too many people in our world face.
The ending of this book was perfect for me. It was realistic, but still had enough touches of fairy tale ending to please the squealing little girl I have inside of me.
Fantastic work, Holly. I'll definitely read more of your books.

REVIEW: Kiss of Frost

Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2) 
by Jennifer Estep (Goodreads Author) 

Emily Rose Shallenberger's review

Jan 01, 12  ·  edit

Read on December 26, 2011 — I own a copy

I was very pleased with the sequel. The identity of the villain was easy to guess early on, for me at least, but it didn't even remotely detract from how much I liked the novel. Further character development was fun, introduction of new background was perfectly timed, and it set up the end well for a new book. I was interested, and I'm sure I'll continue reading on in the series. Though this is among the many YA fantasy books in an academy type setting, the mythology and history aspect of it definitely adds. It isn't the most wonderfully written book, but if you don't have unrealistic expectations for this book, then you'll most likely enjoy it.

REVIEW: Touch of Frost

Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1) 
by Jennifer Estep (Goodreads Author) 

Emily Rose Shallenberger's review

Jan 05, 12  ·  edit

bookshelves: first-reads, own

Read from December 22 to 23, 2011

I just won this book on first reads! I really enjoyed it. Fans of the Vampire Academy series will really enjoy this book, as it has a lot of the same elements, only it is set in a modern day mythological world. The main character, Gwen Frost, a teenage gypsy girl, is a very refreshing characters with very believable weaknesses, which is a nice breath of fresh air compared to the perfect heroines I see a lot of fantasy novels featuring today. It's also very blunt about teenage life, which is fun and realistic. A lot of the plot was predictable, but it was an easy read and very fun to follow. I'm going out and buying the next book in the series tomorrow! Can't wait to see how it turns out.