Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Published by HarperTeen (3.2.2010)
Audiobook, 470 pages
12 hours, 25 minutes
Source: I own it
What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.
The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death–and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.
This time around I listened to the audio instead of reading it, and I think I loved it even more than last time! I forgot how much this book meant to me, how profound it was, how much I loved it. Even though it’s everyday mundane things happening for the majority of the book, it never gets boring.
I could read this book over and over again and never get sick of it. It’s definitely one of my favorites! I think I liked it better in audio format, because Sarah Drew is a really talented narrator. She does a fabulous job of bringing all the characters to life and injecting just the right amount of feeling.
If you haven’t read this book, I definitely recommend it!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Published by Little Brown (9.27.2011)
Audiobook, 418 pages
12 hours, 32 minutes
Source: I own it
Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.
And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.
Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.
When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
Man, I forgot how freaking beautiful this story was! It has a certain feel to it that I can’t explain, but makes me want to curl up in the book and live there. Laini Taylor’s writing is stunning, and I am so in love with the backstory of Madrigal and Akiva.
Just like Before I Fall, I enjoyed this a lot more on audio. Khristine Hvam is a great narrator! I love how she brings the characters to life with all of her accents, even the disturbing Razgut! I freaking loved Zuzana’s voice on audio in her Czech accent. Spot on!
The story of the Chimera and Angels is one of my favorites. The love story between Madrigal and Akiva is beautiful and tragic and it has a special place in my heart!
Again – if you haven’t read this one either, you definitely need to!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is on my TBR for sure. I just visited Prague and love that city. I am excited to read a book based on that city.