BLOG TOUR: The Empress Chronicles

Hello everyone! Today I have the privilege of participating in a blog tour with a bunch of other bloggers, for a really cool book that came out recently, The Empress Chronicles, by Suzy Vitello. Without further ado, here we go!

     Liz was sent to live with her father and his new hippie girlfriend on their tiny farm. Her mom was hoping it would help her. In other words, this is Liz's worst nightmare. She has severe OCD. The thought of all the germs running rampant on that farm petrifies her. Liz has to learn to cope though, so she doesn't have a repeat of the painful incident that sent her there in the first place...
     150 years earlier, duchess Sisi of Austria is having her own problems. The Emperor is supposed to marry her older sister. And Sisi has fallen hopelessly for the mysterious Count S. When the cunning and deceptive Lola Montez gets involved, everything goes wrong. The thing Sisi really needs id a do over, but that's impossible right?
     When present day Liz find an old diary, and an ancient locket, these two characters will meet in a seemingly impossible way. 150 years ago, these two items held a curious sort of magic. Could it still be alive today? Liz's life-and therefore Sisi's- changes forever when she discovers that she has the power to rewrite history... And maybe give the young Empress a second chance, to get away.

This book is a historical fiction/magical realism/coming of age book. And somehow, the author managed to make it all work! The history buffs will be pleasantly surprised to see just how historically accurate this book is (I know I was!). Having known next to nothing about Empress Sisi before reading this book, I did some research when I finished and discovered that most of the details, except for the magic part of course, were totally correct! This made me very happy. Liz and Sisi are both very similar, in that they both had some of the same issues. Sisi was known for being exceptionally thin, and pretty much anorexic. And Liz, couldn't stand the thought of the germs that could be in her food, so she struggled with that as well. I thought Liz's OCD/annorexia provided a very interesting character, that we don't often see, especially in YA. And usually, with books that have dual point of views, it can be hard to tell one voice from the other. But I'm happy to say that this book didn't have this problem at all! Liz and Sisi's voices were always easy to distinguish, and each had their own tone, which I loved. This book was very well written, and very well researched, which are two thumbs up for me! I really liked this book, and plan on buying my own copy soon! 4 out of 5 noodles, and I cant wait for the rest of the series!

Series Review: Shatter Me Trilogy

Juliette has a deadly touch. Anyone that comes in contact with her lethal skin dies. Juliette has never known the loving embrace of another human being, or the basic feeling of human contact. The last time she mistakenly touched someone resulted in her being thrown in a cell and shunted from insane asylum to insane asylum. But the new government that has ruined the dying world has taken an interest in Juliette's unique situation. And she's not so sure she want's to be their weapon.

Beware: RANT AHEAD
So, I just recently finished this trilogy. I didn't read the books in a very timely succession, so I don't remember much about the first book. I do remember that I really liked it and I finished it in a day though! However, the series did not follow through. At all. The second book was alright, and the third book was just... awful. And I feel bad saying that because I really love the author! But the main character, Juliette, was one of the most whiny, annoying, unlikable characters I've ever read. She spent the entire trilogy wallowing in the biggest pool of self pity I've ever seen. She even said at one point that "I never stopped to consider that someone could have it worse than me." I mean COME ON! The Earth is almost literally falling apart and she's been safe in a cell while the entire world starves and dies from diseases and harsh climates, etc. I was okay with it the first book, the second book I was annpyed, and the third book I barely even made it through. If I weren't so interested in seeing how one of the supporting characters ended up, I wouldn't even have bothered. She's supposed to be this warrior, but she didn't grow a spine until the last hundred pages! I'm not going to get into any spoilers here, but the third book was probably one of the worst I've read this year. I honestly just flipped through the last 10 chapters to get the gist of what was going on because I just wanted to be done with it! UGH. I wanted so badly to like this trilogy, but I just can't. And it's not just Juliette that's wrong with these books. I could go on and on, but I can't really mention anything else I didn't like without giving away spoilers. Which, in spite of how much I didn't like this trilogy, I still don't want to do in case there are any of you out there who are still reading or want to read this. I will say though, the writing in these books was beautiful. Tahereh Mafi has a very unique way with words! That's partly why I feel s bad about not liking these! However, I would give this series probably... 3 noodles overall. And that's probably generous.

Review: The Kiss of Decption

Princess Lia is being faced with a fate that so many before her have had to succumb to, an arranged marriage forged to try and make peace with a neighboring country. But Lia has never been one to just sit down and take it. So she does the unthinkable- She runs away on her wedding day. Now marked as a traitor to her kingdom, her enraged father sends an assassin after her to make her pay.  And what of the prince? Well, he's intrigued by the girl who had the guts to do what he's been itching to do all this time, so he goes after her too. Lia, the Prince, and the Assassin have hopelessly entwined themselves in an ever growing web of mystery and lies, where no one is who-or what- they say they are.

    Before you go running away, thinking that this book sounds exactly like every other cheesy arranged marriage/runaway bride/unsuspecting lover story out there, let me stop you! This book has a very interesting twist that completely sets it apart from all the others.
    You already know that our story follows the runaway princess Lia, the prince, and the Aassissin. BUT, what you don't know, is that throughout the book, you don't know who the assassin is, and who the prince is. EEEP! I know, exciting right? Lia unsuspectingly interacts with them through the book, but you don't find out until the very end who's out to kill her, and who wants to marry her. We get 5 point of views throughout the story line: Lia, the prince, the assassin, and then the two people that each guy tells her they are. I know it all sounds very confusing, but trust me, it works.
   I have to admit, when I first heard about this book, I didn't know how the writer was going to pull it off, but let me tell you-she definitely did. The story was really well written, and kept me guessing until the very end! And I'll just say that my suspicions were completely wrong. It just made it more fun! I really liked this book, the only problem I have is that it's the first in a series so I don't know how the author will think up another way to make this story unique, but I'll definitely continue on with it when the second one comes out! 4 noodles!

The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

Netflix recently added Gilmore Girls to the instant view, which I have gladly taken advantage of. I'm currently halfway through the second season, and let me just say, I'm obsessed! Rory and Laurelai's antics and relationship is absolutely adorable. And Rory being the genius she is, is shown reading 300 some books in the 7 seasons. Someone out there has compiled a sort of challenge to see how many of the books she's read that you've also read, and to eventually complete the list! Here I have all the books on the list, let me know how many you've read!
(the ones in bold are the ones I've read already!) I've read 22 so far, and I don't really intend on reading all of these, but it's still pretty neat!

 1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 

The Book Spew

I don't think it's any secret that I like books. If we 're having a conversation involving books, or I happen to be in a book store with you, you will firsthand witness what can only be called the Book Spew. You've just entered into a one-way road to Carley's brain, where-surprise!-I think about books. Once you get me started, it's really hard to get me to stop. I will incessantly ramble about what I'm reading at the time, or what I want to read next, or what I read yesterday... You get the picture. And if we're in the bookstore or the library, you'll be hearing -

"Oh that book is good."

"That book is really good." 

"Oh you definitely need to read that." 

"Don't even look at that one. It was horrible."

"Oh I cried like a baby  during that one!"

You see what I mean? I'll be your walking library, with so many recommendations, you'll probably pick up a book and start reading just to get me to stop. So I say this as a warning, unless you actually want to hear it, be prepared to get books spewed all over you if you're within close proximity to me;)