The Quiet Concert

Top Ten Characters We Would Like to be BFFs With

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's Top Ten list is
"Top Ten Characters Who We Would Like to be BFFs With"

I (surprise, Nicole :)! ) decided that book covers did not do our best friend themed TTT post justice, so I decided to share some of our pictures. Here's to one of my best friends!

Nicole's Top Five

Zuzana - Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Because she is freaking hilarious

Rose - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

She's loyal, badass, and down-to-earth

Roux - Also Known As by Robin Benway

She may have some baggage, but she is another hilarious one

Dee - Open Road Summer by Emory Lord

Screw Reagan, I want a shot at Matt Finch

Evie - The Diviners by Libba Bray

Because she is the cat's pajamas

Madox - Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Kay and I are going to kidnap him from Tella and adopt him for our own

Ashley's Top Five

Annie - Mind Games by Kiersten White

The love she has for her sister is through the roof, I think she would be a loyal friends

Blue - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue would just be a pretty unique awesome friend

Cinder - The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

If I got Cinder, I would get Iko too! Iko would keep me laughing and Cinder could be ready to take on any adventure

June - Legend by Marie Lu

She's loyal, super smart, and tough

Kami - Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

She's is witty, sarcastic, and honest.

What are your top ten?

Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog #1) by Anne Blankman

Title: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog #1
Author: Anne Blankman
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Release Date: April 22, 2014
Pages: 416
Source: ARC, ALA

Summary from Goodreads:
In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.

And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?

Review

Prisoner of Night & Fog isn't your typical WWII story. It takes place in the early 1930s during Hitler's rise to power and is told from the POV of a girl who grew up with "Uncle Dolf" as a loving father figure. Moreover, a fictitious murder is weaved around real events in history, and the primary plot focus. Although I wouldn't know any better, having only a basic knowledge of WWII, Blankman's story felt authentic and well-researched.

It was really interesting, while also discomforting, to read from the POV of "Hitler's pet". In the beginning of the book, Gretchen shares Hitler's negative opinions of the Jews and her these thoughts and her habit to defend Uncle Dolf are not easy to shed. But while investigating her father's murder Gretchen learns that the Jews are not the enemy she was raised to believe they were and the people she thought she could count on are perhaps the real monsters. She experienced tremendous growth over the course of this book.

Being fascinated with History as I am, Historical Fiction novels always pull me in for the history lesson alone. But I further enjoyed the unique perspective Blankman provides through Gretchen, the mystery surrounding her father's murder, and the focus on the early days of Nazi Germany. However, I felt a little lukewarm over the characters and the romance. The plot and setting was what carried this for me, it was well-paced and transfixing.

If you are a fan of Historical Fiction, murder mysteries and a unique perspective, I'd definitely recommend you give this one a try.

Stacking the Shelves (68)- April 19th

Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews features books that you bought, borrowed, rented from the library, received for review, etc.

Upcoming reads:

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

What books are stacking your shelves?

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Title: The Falconer
Series: The Falconer #1
Author: Elizabeth May
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Release Date: May 6th 2014
Pages: Hardcover, US, 336 pages
Source: EW

Summary from Goodreads:
Edinburgh, Scotland, 1844

Lady Aileana Kameron, the only daughter of the Marquess of Douglas, was destined for a life carefully planned around Edinburgh’s social events – right up until a faery killed her mother.

Now it’s the 1844 winter season and Aileana slaughters faeries in secret, in between the endless round of parties, tea and balls. Armed with modified percussion pistols and explosives, she sheds her aristocratic facade every night to go hunting. She’s determined to track down the faery who murdered her mother, and to destroy any who prey on humans in the city’s many dark alleyways.

But the balance between high society and her private war is a delicate one, and as the fae infiltrate the ballroom and Aileana’s father returns home, she has decisions to make. How much is she willing to lose – and just how far will Aileana go for revenge?

What I Liked

Aileana. One of my absolute favorite things about the book is the main character, Aileana. She is a fighter, she is full of sass and full of revenge. Aileana is far from perfect, making her a stronger character - not to mention she is a girl engineer during a era where that is not socially acceptable. **Cheers for smart girls!!!**
The relationships. Both the romantic and non-romantic relationships where spot on. The tension between the Aileana and her love interests was great. The friendships were also a nice addition. Aileana had a best friend, Catherine, and a faery Derrick, who lived in her closet. Each character had a unique role in the story and kept me grinning throughout.
The Scottish Lore. Having recently visited Scotland, I absolutely loved reading about places where I have been, like the Edinburgh Castle. The story takes place in a steampunk Scotland, so picture lots of greenery, castles, Victorian dresses, cool inventions, and fancy parties.
The plot pacing. I felt instantly captured in the story; the plot was fast paced with plenty of action and fight scenes.

What I Didn't

Some of the vocab. This is probably just a me issue but the story uses both Scottish and faery words that I just cannot pronounce. When I cannot pronounce a word it makes it harder for me to remember what they mean therefore I had to refer to the glossary quite frequently.
The cliffhanger. HOLY MOLY! Although I thoroughly enjoyed the plot pacing once of the least favorite parts of the story was the ending. Granted I am excited for the next book but I would have loved just a bit more resolution.

Bottom Line

The Falconer reminded me of why faery books are awesome. I definitely recommend The Falconer if you want to read an awesome story that has faery fighting and a Scottish 'lady' that must save the city all while attempting to manage society's expectations; you have to be okay with a cliff hanger though!

Thoughts for Thursday (21) - What Reviews Do You Read? (Part 1)

Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:

What Reviews Do You Read? (Part 1)

When you see a new book review pop up on your Feedly (in my case), Bloglovin, or email, what determines whether or not you read that post? This discussion was inspired by a post by Natalie @ Natflix & Books in which she discusses her reasons for reading and not reading reviews (in a general sense) and Nicole's post on book ratings since ratings are part of my decision process as to whether or not I will read a review.

I have different mental categories for reviews that essentially guide my review reading:

1. Super popular book that is about to be released

2. Very popular book that is a bit older

3. A book I have heard mentioned but don't know much about and might or might not be interested in

4. A book that I have never heard of

5. A book that I intend to read and review

6. A book I intend to read but not review

Today I want to focus on category #4 - books I have never heard of (we'll tackle the others later, maybe). In an ideal world, I would have time to read ALL THE POSTS but I only have so much time and so I have to pick and choose what I read.. When it comes to books I have never heard of, I basically have a mental flow chart on whether or not I am going to read the review. (Don't hate me for not being able to read everything!)

If I read a title I have never heard of, I first check to make sure it is YA, then check the rating and/or final thoughts. If the reviewer loved the book, I'll read the full review then comment if I have something to say and add the book to my TBR. If the reviewer absolutely loathed the book I'll still typically read the review to see why but also because I love the snarky-ness in some of the posts! But if the blogger thought the book was middle of the road, the rating and/or final thoughts are about all I check out. I love to support other bloggers but my time is limited and these are the reviews that tend to get cut. (Of course other factors play in like 'Do this blogger and I have similar taste in books?' or 'Is this a genre I like?' or 'Does it have an awesome title?' etc)

I have also noticed how comments vary based on the popularity of a book.We tend to receive fewer comments on the books that are lesser known. Have you observed the same trend? I wonder if it is just by chance that our readers do not have much to say about these particular books or if these reviews do indeed get read less because our viewers might not have heard of the book.

So what about you? Do you have a process for deciding what reviews to read? Do you read reviews for books you have never heard of more than, less than, or about the same as other reviews? Do you notice any difference in the amount of comments you receive based on the popularity of the book?

Open Road Summer by Emory Lord

Title: Open Road Summer
Author: Emory Lord
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Pages: 342
Source: ARC, ALA

Summary from Goodreads:
After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence. This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking. A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes.

Review

EVERY LITTLE DETAIL in this book is likable – the characters, the relationships, the summer setting, the 24-city concert tour, the country music, Reagan’s photography. This is one hell of a contemporary that has become a new favorite of mine. But two things were done EXCEPTIONALLY well that gave this book that favorite status – the friendship between Reagan and Dee and the romance between Reagan and Matt.

Reagan and Dee could not be more different - Dee being kind, and trusting and well-behaved with Reagan being outspoken and stubborn and rebellious - but they were both good girls and their friendship was rock solid. It reminded me of what I have with my best friend. You could tell that these girls loved each other from the way they took care of, supported and looked out for one another. No matter what life threw their way - heartbreak, bad press, expectation - they were their for each other and would get through it together. It was such an admirable friendship, with deep-seeded roots, and I loved it.

"'This past year has been a lesson in letting go and holding on, and I still don't know what to make of it. I guess I do know this: find a best friend, and hang on tight.'"

As for the romance between Reagan and Matt – it was just the right amount of sugar and snark. At first, they flirted and teased each other, not really giving much thought to an actual relationship, but the more time they spent together, the more they realized they had in common.They both had a difficult past, understood loss and guilt and regret, and it bonded them together. And then it was sweet, so so sweet. But Reagan struggled to give her heart fully to Matt having been hurt before. But Matt was patient and would not give up on her. Guys, Matt Finch is seriously one of the best fictional boys EVER. Just wait until you see what this boy does for Reagan. I swooned hard. I am totally a finchette.

This book is a must read. Do not be afraid of the hype - I admit that I was - but it is well deserved. It's not often you see such a strong focus on friendship, characters with a lot of personality and depth, a sweet and believable romance, and a fun music-filled setting. This book has a little something for everyone. And it is every bit as fantastic as they are saying.

Top Ten Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That We'd Like To Own

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's Top Ten list is
"Top Ten Bookish Things (That Aren't Books) That We'd Like To Own"