Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher: Poppy

Release Date: January 2nd, 2012

Source: Purchased

My Rating: 4/5

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it

 
I'm not the best when it comes to forgiveness.

I have a bit of a tendency to hold a grudge. Not my best personality trait, I'll admit, and one that has gotten me into trouble a few times recently. I do forgive, but it just takes me a bit longer than some people.

Why am I talking about forgiveness? Well, a book I thought would just be a cutesy, comedic novel turned into a journey to let go of anger, to embrace change, and maybe find your soul-mate.

I had been hearing amazing things about The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight since its release in January. Everyone was calling it adorable and fantastic, so I knew I had to check it out. I started and finished it just the other day and, I have to say, it was just as great as everyone said it was. 

At first, I wasn't a huge fan of Hadley. Mostly because of her unfortunate name. There was a boy named Hadley in my elementary school that used to chase me around, try to kiss me, and was one of the most obnoxious people I've ever had to deal with. Once I got past the association, I started to like her. I felt angry on her behalf when she spoke of her father's abandonment, and smiled to myself constantly during her banter with Oliver. And Oliver. Oh, I'm a sucker for a pretty boy with an accent. The mystery surrounding his return to London, and his constant humor had me flipping the page to read more. Hadley and Oliver's dialogue seemed very natural and endearing, and their relationship, although formed quickly, seemed solid and heart-warming.

The idea of forgiveness, something both Hadley and Oliver struggled with added an extra element to the story. It wasn't just about a chance meeting, and a romance that bloomed from it. It was two people suffering the consequences of other people's actions, and finding it in their heart to move on. It made me realize the mistakes of others don't have to define my own life, and that holding on to a grudge doesn't hurt anyone more than myself.

I will say, I found the writing slightly repetitive. Hadley often had the same internal monologue over and over, just with minor rephrasing. I understood the importance of it, but I think it was adequately covered the first few times. I also wasn't a huge fan of the third person writing. I felt it didn't fit the story at some points, but that's more of a personal preference.

Overall, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was everything I hoped it would be, and more. Witty, fun, romantic, with just the right amount of heart, this book was great, and one I would recommend.

- Ciara who is lost at midnight

Find this book: Amazon | Goodreads | The Book Depository
  

Women of the Otherworld Mini-Challenge #1

Hello, book-a-lovin' peeps!

Today, I'm going to be participating in the first "Mini-Challenge" for The Women of the Otherworld Reading Challenge hosted by the lovely Lucy over at Moonlight Gleam's Bookshelf! I posted about the challenge earlier, but I haven't had time to participate yet, due to this lovely thing called school. Now that I'm on summer vacation *cue cheering* I'm going to try and catch up.

For this first "Mini-Challenge", Lucy has asked participants to take a picture of all the books they own written by Kelley Armstrong, be it her novels, short stories, or anthologies. 

So, let me say this up front: I'm a bit of a Kelley Armstrong fanatic. Although I don't own everything she's ever published, I've read the vast majority (yay, library!) and own a significant amount. Without further ado, here is the collection:

My Darkest Powers/Darkest Rising collection. I haven't bought The Calling yet!

My entire WOTOW collection (include anthologies and Sub. Press novellas)

Nadia Stafford series

Kelley Armstrong anthologies

Kelley Armstrong swag AND WOTOW Primer!

Inside the Primer, note the signature!

My entire Kelley Armstrong collection

There you have it! My entire collection. I own almost all her published novels (except for The Calling), although in lots of different formats. I started buying The Women of the Otherworld series before they were re-released in Canada, so I have a mix of new and old covers. I actually got both of my Nadia Stafford books at the thrift store, which was just fantastic. I also bought all three of her Subterranean Press novellas, which I am ridiculously happy about (two days after I ordered Angelic, it was sold out). The Otherworld Primer is something I feel very lucky to have. Many people don't know about it, since the series isn't being made into a comic anymore. I ordered the primer the day I found out about it, and although the comic was cancelled (as far as I know) they did print and send out the primer (which I love!) I have also been lucky enough to attend two Kelley Armstrong signings, so all except for one of my books is signed. AND I'm going to a third signing in September, so my entire collection will soon be complete!

Thinking about reading The Women of the Otherworld series? Why not join the challenge! It's a fun, laid-back reading challenge to get people into the series! All the details are here.

That's all for now! How's your Kelley Armstrong collection?

- Ciara who is lost at midnight

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Release Date: September 27th, 2011

Source: Purchased

My Rating: 4.5/5

Summary from Goodreads:

Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

I've always been slightly afraid of mirrors. You know in horror movies were people look away from the mirror then look back and the knife-wielding axe-murderer whatever is standing behind them? Yeah, that has made me very scared of mirrors.

So has this book.

I was literally shaking when I read it, and kept ducking and hiding from mirrors for days afterwards! I'm sorry, but seeing dead friends in mirrors instead of yourself? Yeah, it was terrifying. It was probably not my best idea to stay up 'til two reading but I couldn't help myself! I needed to know what happened! A midnight read at its finest.

I was absolutely hooked from the first page. That letter! Wow! What a grab. Actually, I could say I was hooked from the cover cause, um, yeah, one of the best covers I've ever seen. One question I heard about the cover, which made me love it that much more, was "Is the boy on the cover saving her, or pulling her under?" Every time I look at the cover I can't help but shiver.

The story itself was shudder-inducing (in a good way). Watching the main character, Mara Dyer, slowly slip into madness was engrossing while terrifying. Her visions had me cowering from the pages, while flipping them faster to read more. The flashbacks of the incident, the constant nightmares, and Mara's attempt to survive it all kept the story moving, and kept my heart-pounding.

Mara Dyer is not your typical heroine, and I loved that about her. She's dark, haunted, and scary in her own right. She's a bit of a tragic heroine; one fatal flaw could bring her all down. Which is fantastic (in a literary sense. I'm sure it's not so fantastic for Mara). A lot of books have strong female leads that have you cheering and rooting for their success. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer has a protagonist that has you staring in horror, yet fascinated by her every decision. I have to say, this series has a lot of potential. And the dark heroine of Mara is one to watch out for.

I have to also mention Noah Shaw. Although I found the beginning of their relationship slightly typical (by YA book standards), I adored him. I can't help but love a sarcastic hottie, with a sweet side. I mean really, who can!

I don't want to give away anything, so I'm going to put a big SPOILER ALERT right here (although, it's not really a huge spoiler, but if you don't want any, don't read this paragraph) but there was one thing that irked me about the book. I didn't like the supernatural element that was thrown in at the end. I liked the more contemporary, although a bit paranormal, style it was taking. But the end! Oh the end. Let's just say I NEED to have The Evolution of Mara Dyer in my hands...like yesterday.

If you're looking for a scary thrill-ride, pick up The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It'll have you cowering in a corner, while gluing your eyes to the page.
 
The cover of The Evolution of Mara Dyer was just released and my goodness is it gorgeous! As stunning and as deeply haunting as the first. Makes me wonder what's going to happen in the second book!

-Ciara who is lost at midnight  

Waiting On Wednesday (8): Rebel Heart by Moira Young

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, in which bloggers talk about the books they are most eager for!

This week's pick: Rebel Heart (Dust Lands #2) by Moira Young

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: October 30th, 2012

WARNING: Summary (from Goodreads) contains spoilers for Blood Red Road
 

The Tonton have been defeated. Lugh has been rescued.
The heartstone has brought Saba and Jack together.
Now, Saba and her family head west to meet him and start a new life. All should be well.
But shadows of the dead are stalking Saba.
And another kind of shadow is creeping over the dustlands.
Then a messenger shows up.
With news of Jack.

Not too much of a description at this point, but if it's anything like Blood Red Road it's sure to be fantastic. Blood Red Road was one of the most interesting dystopians I've ever read. There wasn't a new society filled with cool-technology and corrupted government. Instead, it was set in the dustlands, a wide expanse of nothingness. The way it was written was unique as well and took some getting used to (I'm a crazy grammar freak. I love commas and punctuation and editing everything, so reading a book with slang, minimal punctuation and lots of incorrect sentences drove me slightly bonkers) but once I found a rhythm, it added the perfect atmosphere to the novel.

Although I've wanted to read it for a while, I actually picked up Blood Red Road because of my book club (I'll be talking more about that in the coming weeks). One thing that was mentioned about the book has always stuck with me. One of the women said, and I paraphrase "Blood Red Road is realistic. If we went through an apocalypse our world would probably look like this."


I'm really excited to see where Rebel Heart goes. There's a lot of possibilities and potential to this world, and the characters have a lot of things going for them. I can't wait to dive back into Saba and Jack's witty banter, and this desolate world with so many secrets. I just hope it doesn't break my heart! (I have a feeling it's going to)


What do you think? Is Blood Red Road a realistic dystopian? If you haven't read it, thinking of checking it out? What's your Waiting on Wednesday pick?


- Ciara who is lost at midnight

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren, in which bloggers post about the books they got during the week!

I'm going on another book ban. Seriously, my bank account is yelling at me. I am only buying one more book this month, cause May is going to bankrupt me. Anyways, I manage to snag some fantastic deals this week because my local Salvation Army was having a huge book sale. All books under $1 were ten books for $5! I couldn't help myself! Here are the books!

Bought:

- Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding
- As Lie the Dead by Kelly Meding
- Another Kind of Dead by Kelly Meding
- Wrong Side of Dead by Kelly Meding
- One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost
Note: I technically already own this book. I'm a huge Night Huntress series fan and picked up One Grave at a Time days after it came out. And I lost it. I have no clue how, but it disappeared and I've been really upset about it since (ask my friend Crimson. On random occasions I will tweet her something along the lines of "I'M SO HEARTBROKEN! I NEED BONES" every couple of months). Much to my surprise, and delight, I found a copy for only 99 cents! Made my day!

- The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

- Sins of the Angels by Linda Poitevin (I've heard a couple people talking about this one so I figured I might as well check it out!)

- I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (not part of the bargain, just a book I've been meaning to pick up!) 

That's it for this week! What was in your mailbox?

-Ciara who is lost at midnight