Top Ten Tuesday #23

Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels

Where She Went by Gayle Forman / Stolen by Lucy Christopher / White Cat by Holly Black / My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares / Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

I'm well aware Where She Went and White Cat are/have sequels but I don't think I'll ever get tired of these stories. Stolen had the sort of ending which makes you want to write horrible fanfiction with the heroes reconnecting in some alternative universe, just like in My Name is Memory.  And I always want more of Marchetta. 

Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara / How To Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo / Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly / If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin / Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Lovely, Dark and Deep and If He Had Been With Me should have sequels because I need to read about the part where the characters get over the hardship they've gone through. Tiffanie is just genius and I have no doubt she could cook up an interesting drama for the sequel. Revolution was perfect as it is and I just wish Jennifer Donnelly would write a similar book for YA readers soon. I miss her work. And Rainbow Rowell writes these bubbly books which make me very happy. Who doesn't need more happy thoughts in their lives? 

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books    
Publication date: September 24th 2013
My rating: 3 stars

Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water. 
Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.
Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.
But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….
With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.

Not a Drop to Drink is a book about survival, the natural selection, or survival of the fittest,  more than it's 'just another dystopian novel'. McGinnis shows us another side of the post apocalyptic world where the battles aren't about being in charge but just defending what you build from scratch. 

Lynn lives with her mother in a country where every drop of water matters more than gold. They have a pond which has been keeping them alive even before Lynn was born. They are though and trigger ready whenever someone tries to take what's theirs. After an accident Lynn is left alone to defend her property. When strangers appear she will have to fight like she's never fought before. 

I had some issues with the pacing. It was too slow for my taste and the ending was a bit rushed. Wish the author sped some things and slowed others. And for some reason I didn't think the romance was necessary. The moment the love interest appeared I knew they would end up sooner or later. But I guess it's hard to pool off a romance-free YA novel these days. 

Lynn was a great leading lady and even though she's all tough and rugged she still had a gentle heart and was capable of saving those in danger. 

I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed books like Blood Red Road and Life As We Knew It, where the main concern is the basic need all humans have, survival. 

Monthly To Read List: August 2013 + July recap

August is packing some serious heat in the 'can't wait to get my greedy little hands on it' category. I pre-ordered Crown of Midnight, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and The Beginning of Everything. Others will be read on my PlayBook.

August New Releases:

I think I'm going to read more books on my shelf this month and try not to think about my Goodreads reading challenge, even though I'm 46 books ahead of schedule (read 163 out of 200). 

There haven't been as many reviews as I hoped there would be this July. I've been listening and trying to catch up with the urban fantasy series I usually read/listen only when it's seriously hot outside. So far, I've managed to read 5 Fever books (currently reading Iced with my buddy Elena), 5 Kate Daniels audiobooks (currently listening to the latest, Magic Rises), 2 The Disillusionist,1 Charley Davidson and 1 Chicagoland Vampires audiobooks. 

That's 14 urban fantasy novels and I just couldn't keep up with the reviews since the moment I'm done with one, I start the next one, which can be tricky when writing reviews because it all seems like one big book, rather than 3 or 4 sequels. 

Here are our reviews from month July. 

Zemira's reviews:

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Starglass by Phoebe North

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

A Wounded Name by Dot Hutchison

Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill

Devyani's reviews:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Out of Breath by Rebecca Donovan

Tormenting Lila by Sarah Alderson

The Boys of Summer.& An Endless Summer by C.J Duggan

Stacking the Shelves

I'm been job hunting so I've been MIA on the blog for awhile. I didn't get any new books this week but here's my last week's haul I forgot to post. Bought these pretties on AwesomeBooks . They don't ship to Bosnia so I asked my cousin from Slovenia if it was OK to use his address. He came for a visit a few days ago so I got them really fast. I'm super excited to start reading them. If only it was easier to decide which one to start first.

Click on the image for a better view

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

A Note of Madness by Tabitha Suzuma

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

I paid them around 18EUR which is around $23. Pretty good for 3 HCs and 3 PBs. 

I already read These Broken Stars and will write the review today so it should be up sometime next week. Hover is the next on my TBR pile. Here's my review of Gravity, the first book in The Taking trilogy/series. You should check it out. It's a fast paced sci-fi novel. You won't regret reading it.